TH3  CUaHILLti  INDIA1T3, 


By 

LUCIL3  HOOPER  LA  PRADE 
A.B.    1917. 

THESIS 


Submitted  in  partial  satisfaction  of  the  requirements  for  the  degre< 


MASTER  OF  ARTS 

in 
ANTHROPOLOGY 

in  the 
GRADUATE  DIVISION 

of  the 
UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 


Approved. 


Instructor  in  Charge 


Deposited  in  the  University  Library 


Date 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  PUBLICATIONS 

IN 

AMERICAN    ARCHAEOLOGY   AND    ETHNOLOGY 

Vol.  16,  No.  6,  pp.  315-380  April  10,  1920 


THE  CAHUILLA  INDIANS 


BY 
LUCILE   HOOPER 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  PUBLICATIONS 
DEPARTMENT  OF  ANTHROPOLOGY 

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AMERICAN  ARCHAEOLOGY  AND  ETHNOLOGY.— A.  L.  Kroeber,  Editor.  Prices, 
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Vol.1.     1.  Life  and  Culture  of  the  Hupa,  by  Pliny  Earle  Goddard.    Pp.  1-88;  plates 

1-30.    September,  1903  : $1.25 

2.  Hupa  Texts,  by  Pliny  Earle  Goddard.    Pp.  89-368.    March,  1904 3.00 

Index,  pp.  369-378. 
Vol.  2.     1.  The  Exploration  of  the  Potter  Creek  Cave,  by  William  J.  Sinclair.  Pp.  1-27; 

plates  1-14.    April,  1904  .40 

2.  The  Languages  of  the  Coast  of  California  South  of  San  Francisco,  by  A.  L. 

Kroeber.    Pp.  29-80,  with  a  map.    June,  1904 60 

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1904  „ 25 

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Kroeber.    Pp.  105-164;  plates  15-21.    January,  1905  75 

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165-377.    January,  1907  2.25 

Index,  pp.  379-392. 

Vol.  3.     The  Morphology  of  the  Hupa  Language,  by  Pliny  Earle  Goddard.    344  pp. 

June,  1905  3.50 

Vol.  4.     1.  The  Earliest  Historical  Relations  between  Mexico  and  Japan,  from  original 

documents  preserved  in  Spain  and  Japan,  by  Zelia  Nuttall.  Pp.  1-47. 

April,  1906  .50 

2.  Contribution  to  the  Physical  Anthropology  of  California,  based  on  collec 

tions  in  the  Department  of  Anthropology  of  the  University  of  California, 
and  in  the  U.  S.  National  Museum,  by  Ales  Hrdlicka.  Pp.  49-64,  with 
5  tables;  plates  1-10,  and  map.  June,  1906 75 

3.  The  Shoshonean  Dialects  of  California,  by  A.  L.  Kroeber.     Pp.  65-166. 

February,  1907  . 150 

4.  Indian  Myths  from  South  Central  California,  by  A.  L.  Kroeber.    Pp.  167- 

250.    May,  1907  75 

5.  The  Washo  Language  of  East  Central  California  and  Nevada,  by  A.  L. 

Kroeber.    Pp.  251-318.    September,  1907  75 

6.  The  Religion  of  the  Indians  of  California,  by  A.  L.  Kroeber.    Pp.  319-356. 

September,  1907  . .50 

Index,  pp.  357-374. 
Vol.5.     1.  The  Phonology  of  the  Hupa  Language;  Part  I,  The  Individual  Sounds,  by 

Pliny  Earle  Goddard.    Pp.  1-20,  plates  1-8.    March,  1907 35 

2.  Navaho  Myths,  Prayers  and  Songs,  with  Texts  and  Translations,  by  Wash 

ington  Matthews,  edited  by  Pliny  Earle  Goddard.  Pp.  21-63.  Septem 
ber,  1907  75 

3.  Kato  Texts,  by  Pliny  Earle  Goddard.    Pp.  65-238,  plate  9.    December,  1909    2,50 

4.  The  Material  Culture  of  the  Klamath  Lake  and  Modoc  Indians  of  North 

eastern  California  and  Southern  Oregon,  by  S.  A.  Barrett.  Pp.  239-292, 
plates  10-25.  June,  1910  75 

5.  The  Chimariko  Indians  and  Language,  by  Roland  B.  Dixon.    Pp.  293-380. 

August,  1910  1.00 

Index,  pp.  381-384. 
Vol.  6.     1.  The  Ethno-Geography  of  the  Porno  and  Neighboring  Indians,  by  Samuel 

Alfred  Barrett.    Pp.  1-332,  maps  1-2.    February,  1908  3.25 

2.  The  Geography  and  Dialects  of  the  Miwok  Indians,  .by  Samuel  Alfred 

Barrett.    Pp.  333-368,  map  3. 

3.  On  the  Evidence  of  the  Occupation  of  Certain  Regions  by  the  Miwok 

Indians,  by  A.  L.  Kroeber.    Pp.  369-380. 

Nos.  2  and  3  in  one  cover.    February,  1908 50 

Index,  pp.  381-400. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  PUBLICATIONS 

IN 

AMERICAN    ARCHAEOLOGY   AND    ETHNOLOGY 

Vol.  16,  No.  6,  pp.  315-380  April  10,  1920 


THE  CAHUILLA  INDIANS 

BY 

LUCILE  HOOPEK 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Editor's  note  316 

Origin  beliefs 317 

Keligious  life  328 

Mourning  commemoration  and  fiesta  week 328 

Shamanism  333 

Spirits  339 

Future  life  342 

Burial  customs 343 

Enemy  songs  344 

Boys '  initiation _ 345 

Girls '  adolescence  347 

Eagle  ceremony  348 

Social  life  349 

Moieties  and  clans 349 

Naming  of  children 349 

Pregnancy  and  childbirth 350 

Sickness  351 

Social  customs  352 

Marriage  353 

War  355 

Property  rights  _ 356 

Industries  and  knowledge 356 

Food  _ 356 

Clothing  357 

Earth-covered  houses  _ 357 

Bows  and  arrows 358 

Handiwork  359 

Games  360 

Dogs  361 

Calendar  362 

The  stars - 363 

Tales  and  beliefs 364 

Takwich  364 

Chehaum  and  Tukwishhemish 365 

Kunvachmal  and  Tukvachtahat 366 

Takweltekesnikish 371 

Origin  of  the  birds 376 

Whirlwind  377 

Bibliography   379 


2296 


316  University  of  California  Publications  in  Am.  Arch,  and  Ethn.     [Vol.  16 


EDITOR'S  NOTE 

This  account  of  the  Cahuilla,  one  of  the  largest  surviving  tribes 
in  southern  California,  represents  the  work  of  Lucile  Hooper  as 
University  of  California  research  fellow  in  anthropology  in  1918. 

The  Cahuilla  occupy  three  contiguous  but  quite  different  habitats. 
The  Mountain  division  inhabits  Coahuilla  reservation  and  certain 
near-by  tracts,  some  four  thousand  feet  above  the  ocean.  To  the  north, 
in  San  Gorgonio  Pass,  are  the  Pass  Cahuilla,  at  about  half  that  eleva 
tion.  These  are  now  mostly  on  Morongo  reservation.  The  Desert 
Cahuilla  are  inland  from  the  two  preceding  groups,  about  Indio  and 
Coachella  in  Torres,  Martinez,  and  a  number  of  other  small  reserva 
tions  northwest  of  the  Salton  Sea.  The  territory  of  these  people  is 
almost  wholly  without  rainfall,  and  lies  at  about  sea  level,  in  part 
below  it.  Their  habitat  is  thus  unusually  specialized.  Owing  to  late 
settlement  of  the  district  by  Americans,  this  group  of  the  Cahuilla 
has  also  best  preserved  its  ancient  customs.  Miss  Hooper's  investi 
gations  relate  chiefly  to  the  Desert  Cahuilla. 

There  is  a  considerable  body  of  published  literature  on  the  Cahuilla 
and  other  Indian  tribes  of  southern  California,  but  no  intensive 
monograph  upon  any  one  tribe  nor  a  satisfactory  comprehensive  treat 
ment  of  the  region.  The  literature  being  so  scattered,  its  citation 
would  have  resulted  in  innumerable  detailed  cross-references  in  foot 
notes,  which  the  ethnological  specialist  in  this  field  would  scarcely 
need,  and  which  would  not  be  of  much  aid  to  the  novice.  The  list 
of  the  more  important  works  given  at  the  end  of  this  paper  will 
probably  meet  the  requirements  of  most  readers. 

The  first  comparative  problem  about  the  Desert  Cahuilla  has 
hitherto  been  this.  They  speak  the  same  language  as  the  Mountain 
and  Pass  divisions,  and  are  rather  closely  connected  in  speech  with 
the  other  Shoshonean  groups  on  the  west — the  Luiseno,  Cupeno,  Juan- 
eilo,  Gabrielino,  and  Serrano.  To  the  east  and  northeast  is  the  home 
of  the  alien  Yuman  tribes  of  the  lower  Colorado  River — the  Cocopa, 
Yuma,  Mohave  and  others,  all  agricultural ;  and  of  the  Chemehuevi 
or  Southern  Paiute,  nomads  of  the  Great  Basin.  Do  the  cultural 
connections  of  the  Cahuilla  run  chiefly  westward  like  their  speech 
affiliations,  or  are  they  as  close  with  the  Yumans  and  Chemehuevi? 
Miss  Hooper's  data,  taken  in  their  entirety,  settle  this  question. 


1920]  Hooper:  The  Cahuilla  Indians  317 

With  all  their  geographical  proximity  to  the  Yuma  and  Mohave,  the 
Desert  Cahuilla  partake  essentially  of  the  native  civilization  of  the 
Shoshonean  coastal  tribes  of  southern  California. 


ORIGIN  BELIEFS1 

Birth  of  Mukat  and  Tamaioit. — In  the  beginning,  there  was  no 
earth  or  sky  or  anything  or  anybody ;  only  a  dense  darkness  in  space. 
This  darkness  seemed  alive.  Something  like  lightnings  seemed  to  pass 
through  it  and  meet  each  other  once  in  a  while.  Two  substances  which 
looked  like  the  white  of  an  egg  came  from  these  lightnings.  They 
lay  side  by  side  in  the  stomach  of  the  darkness,  which  resembled  a 
spider  web.  These  substances  disappeared.  They  were  then  pro 
duced  again,  and  again  they  disappeared.  This  was  called  the  mis 
carriage  of  the  darkness.  The  third  time  they  appeared,  they 
remained,  hanging  there  in  this  web  in  the  darkness.  The  substances 
began  to  grow  and  soon  were  two  very  large  eggs.  When  they  began 
to  hatch,  they  broke  at  the  top  first.  Two  heads  came  out,  then 
shoulders,  hips,  knees,  ankles,  toes ;  then  the  shell  was  all  gone.  Two 
boys  had  emerged :  Mukat  and  Tamaioit.  They  were  grown  men 
from  the  first,  and  could  talk  right  away.  As  they  lay  there,  both  at 
the  same  time  heard  a  noise  like  a  bee  buzzing.  It  was  the  song  of 
their  mother  Darkness. 

Attempt  to  create  light. — Mukat  said  he  was  the  first  to  hear  the 
song,  but  Tamaioit  declared  that  he  was.  They  argued  about  this, 
because  the  first  one  to  hear  it  would  be  considered  the  older,  and 
each  desired  this  honor. 

As  they  lay  there,  they  seemed  to  be  old  enough  to  think.  Mukat 
suggested  that  they  make  light  that  they  might  see.  Tamaioit  said, 
"You  think  you  are  the  older,  now  carry  out  your  ideas."  So  they 
began  creating  things.  Mukat  reached  into  his  mouth  and  took  from 
his  heart:  (1)  a  cricket,  Shilim  shilim;  (2)  Papavonot,  another 
insect;  (3)  a  black  and  white  lizard,  Takmeyatineyawet ;  (4)  a  person, 
Whatwhatwet. 

Mukat  and  Tamaioit  decided  to  turn  all  these  new  creatures  loose 
and  let  them  drive  away  the  darkness.  Since  Mukat  had  made  them, 


1  The  only  previously  recorded  information  pn  the  Cahuilla  origin  story  is  the 
outline  given  by  E.  W.  Gifford,  Univ.  Calif.  Publ.  Am.  Arch.  Ethn.,  xrv,  188,  189, 
1918.  T.  T.  Waterman  has  summarized  and  analyzed  most  of  the  literature  on 
the  origin  myths  of  the  southern  California  Indians  in  the  American  Anthropolo 
gist,  n.s.,  xi,  41-55,  1909. 


318  University  of  California  Publications  in  Am.  Arch,  and  Ethn.     [Vol.  16 

they  had  almost  as  much  power  as  he.  Lizard  tried  to  swallow  the 
darkness  but  was  not  successful.  Finally,  all  of  them  together  man 
aged  to  drive  east  part  of  the  darkness  and  then  there  was  a  little 
light.  But  when  they  returned  to  Mukat  and  Tamaioit,  the  darkness 
they  had  driven  away  rushed  back  and  they  could  not  drive  it  away 
again. 

Mukat  and  Tamaioit  then  said  they  should  have  something  to 
smoke  to  remove  the  darkness,  just  as  medicine  men  smoke  now  to 
remove  disease. 

Making  tobacco. — They  therefore  planned  to  make  tobacco.  Mukat 
took  black  tobacco  from  his  heart  and  Tamaioit  brought  forth  a  lighter 
colored  tobacco.  Next,  they  needed  some  way  to  smoke  it,  so  they  each 
brought  forth  another  substance  from  the  heart.  Mukat 's  was  dark, 
Tamaioit 's  was  light.  With  this  they  made  pipes.  There  were  no 
holes  in  these  pipes,  so  they  each  pulled  out  a  whisker  and  pierced 
holes  in  the  pipes.  Mukat  then  took  a  coal  of  fire  from  his  heart  to 
light  the  tobacco  with.  Now  they  were  ready  to  smoke.  Mukat  filled 
his  pipe  first,  held  it  up  in  the  air,  and  inhaled. 

He  then  decided  to  play  a  trick  on  Tamaioit,  so  he  handed  his  pipe 
to  him  and  said,  ' '  I  am  holding  it  up  high, ' '  but  he  held  it  low,  and 
in  the  dark,  Tamaioit  could  not  see  it.  However,  Tamaioit  was  always 
suspicious  of  Mukat,  so  he  reached  low  instead  of  high,  as  Mukat 
expected  him  to  do,  and  seized  the  pipe.  Tamaioit  then  got  his  pipe 
ready  to  smoke,  held  it  out  to  Mukat  and  said,  ' '  I  am  holding  it  low, ' ' 
and  really  held  it  that  way.  Mukat,  thinking  the  same  trick  was 
being  played  on  him,  reached  high  and  of  course  missed  it.  Therefore, 
Tamaioit  claimed  he  was  the  wiser,  because  he  could  not  be  fooled. 

Creation  of  the  earth. — They  next  took  a  substance  from  their 
hearts  to  make  a  huyanachet  (rod).  As  usual,  Mukat  made  a  black 
one  and  Tamaioit  a  white  one.  These  were  to  be  the  roots  of  the  earth. 
When  they  tried  to  stand  them  up,  they  found  a  support  was  neces 
sary,  so  they  made  snakes  to  twine  around  them.  Even  this  was  not 
enough,  so  they  made  spiders  which  crawled  to  the  top  of  the  rods  and 
made  a  web  from  there  to  the  corners  of  the  darkness. 

The  huyanachet  were  then  firm.  Mukat  and  Tamaioit  climbed  up 
to  the  top  but  had  to  rest  several  times.  When  they  reached  the  top, 
though  it  was  dark,  they  could  see  that  something  like  a  mist  or  smoke 
was  rising  up  from  below.  Mukat  asked  Tamaioit  what  it  was,  and 
he  answered,  "I  have  always  told  you  that  I  am  the  older,  but  you 
say  you  are.  How  does  it  happen  you  do  not  know  that  that  is  our 


1920]  Hooper:  The  Cahuilla  Indians  319 

after-birth  coming  up  behind  us,  and  that  it  causes  all  sickness  and 
disease. ' '  Mukat  then  made  a  song  about  it ;  he  never  seemed  to  know 
things  first,  but  he  always  thought  about  creating  things  before 
Tamaioit  did. 

While  up  on  the  top,  Mukat  now  thought  about  creating  earth,  so 
suggested  it  to  Tamaioit.  Tamaioit  said,  "I  have  always  told  you  I 
am  the  older,  but  you  say  you  are.  So  just  go  ahead  with  your  ideas 
and  don't  consult  me."  But  he  consented  to  help.  Mukat  sang  his 
song,  then  both  shook  all  over,  and  soon  a  substance  poured  out  of 
their  mouths,  ran  down  the  poles,  and  spread  all  over,  even  reaching 
to  the  top  of  the  huyanachet. 

This  substance  was  very  soft  at  first;  in  order  to  make  it  solid 
they  created  whirlwinds  to  dry  it,  and  brush  to  make  it  firm.  They 
also  made  many  kinds  of  insects  of  various  sizes  for  this  same  pur 
pose.  Many  of  these  insects  have  since  then  been  used  by  shamans, 
who  take  them  and  let  them  bite  a  person  who  has  a  pain,  and  that 
person  is  then  cured.  The  whirlwinds  which  they  took  were  of  two 
kinds:  teniosha,  which  is  the  worse,  and  tukiaiel.  These  whirlwinds 
live  in  ant  holes,  and  when  a  fire  is  placed  in  these  holes  the  whirl 
winds  whistle  in  their  anger.  They  are  dangerous,  for  they  often  steal 
souls. 

After  Mukat  and  Tamaioit  made  the  earth,  they  made  the  ocean 
to  hold  the  earth  in  one  place.  They  made  creatures  and  weeds  to  live 
in  the  ocean.  The  sky  they  made  of  metal  so  that  it  would  be  strong 
enough  to  stay  up  high  and  not  fall.  In  this  sky  they  put  stars  to 
make  more  light. 

Creation  of  people. — Now  that  the  earth  was  solid  and  ready  to 
walk  upon,  Mukat  asked  what  they  should  do  next.  Tamaioit  said, 
"You  say  you  are  the  older,  so  go  ahead  with  your  ideas."  Mukat 
said  that  he  thought  it  was  now  time  to  create  people,  for  they  needed 
someone  to  talk  to  and  play  with. 

This  they  did,  Mukat  making  dark  people  and  Tamaioit  light 
people.  As  he  made  them,  Tamaioit  placed  his  people  in  a  circle 
around  him.  When  his  circle  was  nearly  completed,  Mukat  had  only 
enough  to  go  half-way  around  him.  Mukat  wondered  how  Tamaioit 
could  make  them  .so  fast,  so  he  made  Sun,  in  order  to  see.  Sun  was 
too  hot  to  hold  and  slipped  away  from  him  and  went  east,  so  there 
was  not  very  much  light  yet. 

Mukat  told  Tamaioit  about  the  escape  of  Sun  and  asked  him  what 
they  had  better  do  about  it.  Tamaioit  said,  "You  insist  that  you  are 


320  University  of  California  Publications  in  Am.  Arch,  and  Ethn.     [Vol.  16 

older  than  I ;  if  you  are,  it  is  strange  that  you  have  to  ask  me  what 
to  do  all  the  time."  However,  he  consented  to  help,  and  the  two  of 
them  created  Moon.  Moon  was  a  woman  and  was  very  bright  and 
beautiful  and  white.  After  she  was  created,  Mukat  could  see  Tama- 
ioit's  people,  for  there  was  more  light.  He  did  not  like  the  people 
at  all. 

Tamaioit's  people  were  exactly  alike  on  both  sides.  They  had  faces 
on  both  sides,  toes  pointing  in  both  directions,  breasts  both  in  front 
and  in  back.  All  the  fingers  and  toes  were  webbed. 

Mukat  said,  "No  wonder  you  could  make  them  so  fast,  they  don't 
look  good  at  all.  You  should  make  them  right :  look  at  mine. ' '  A 
quarrel  followed.  Tamaioit  said,  "My  people  do  not  have  to  turn 
around  to  see  behind  them,  nor  will  mine  drop  things  through  their 
fingers  as  yours  will."  Mukat  said,  "Mine  can  close  their  fingers 
when  they  wish  to  hold  things. "  Tamaioit  said  that  people  should  live 
always;  or,  if  there  was  death,  the  person  should  return  to  life  the 
next  day  and  be  young;  or  else  people  should  remain  young  always. 
Mukat  said  it  would  never  do  not  to  die,  for  the  world  would  get  over 
crowded  and  there  would  not  be  enough  food  for  all.  Tamaioit  said 
they  could  make  both  more  food  and  more  room  to  live  in.  Mukat  said 
it  was  intended  that  people  should  die,  for  after-birth's  blood  was 
meant  to  bring  disease  into  the  world  and  thus  cause  death. 

They  then  said  that  they  must  create  doctors  to  take  care  of  the 
people.  They  had  created  an  old  wood  far  north  and  a  mermaid  under 
the  water.  The  wood  and  the  mermaid  were  the  ones  chosen  to  give 
power  to  the  doctors.2  They  created  a  very  short  man  in  the  north, 
Keketumnamtum,  who  was  to  be  a  medicine  man  and  give  power  to 
the  people  through  their  dreams  of  North  Wind  or  Rain.  After 
obtaining  this  power,  they  would  be  able  to  create  wind  or  rain. 

This  world  is  a  man.  Rain  was  created  and  sent  to  the  sky.  Rain 
is  a  man  and  makes  things  grow.  North  Wind  is  a  man  and  makes 
things  dry  up. 

Mukat  and  Tamaioit  tried  to  decide  when  things  should  grow  and 
ripen.  First  they  said  it  should  take  fifty  menyil  (moons),  but  later 
they  decided  that  it  should  be  four  menyil,  and  thus  it  is  today. 

They  quarreled  continually  about  which  people  had  been  made 
the  proper  way,  and  as  to  whether  there  should  be  death  or  not. 
Finally  Tamaioit  got  angry  and  said  that  since  his  suggestions  did 
not  seem  to  amount  to  anything  here,  he  would  go  to  another  world 


2  This  statement  is  not  clear,  but  it  is  as  clear  as  my  interpreter  could  make  it. 


1920]  Hooper:  The  Calmilla  Indians  321 

and  take  his  people.  He  said  that,  if  he  went  down  into  the  ground, 
the  world  would  turn  over;  Mukat  said  he  would  prevent  that. 

Tamaioit  then  sang  his  song  and  sank  into  the  earth,  taking  all  of 
his  people.  In  his  hurry  he  forgot  Palm,  Coyote,  Duck,  and  Moon. 
Earth  and  Sky  wanted  to  follow  him,  but  Mukat  knelt  on  the  earth 
and  held  his  hand  up  to  the  sky;  by  doing  this,  he  prevented  their 
going.  There  are  now  five  stars  in  the  sky  where  his  fingers  rested. 

As  Tamaioit  went  into  the  ground,  there  was  a  tremendous 
rumbling  and  earthquake.  Mountains  arose  at  this  time  and  the  water 
in  the  ocean  shook  so  that  it  overflowed  and  caused  the  rivers  and 
streams  we  now  have.  The  sky  became  bent  and  curved.  Because 
of  this,  the  sun  seems  to  stop  at  noon  when  it  gets  to  the  highest  point. 
While  the  sun  is  making  it  light  for  us  here,  it  is  dark  in  the  world 
below ;  when  we  see  it  go  over  the  horizon  in  the  evening,  it  is  begin 
ning  to  get  light  there  and  dark  here. 

Mukat  took  the  people  Tamaioit  forgot  and  made  them  into  the 
right  shape,  but  he  forgot  the  duck's  feet;  so  they  are  still  webbed. 

While  Mukat  and  Tamaioit  were  creating  people,  Mukat  created  a 
place  in  the  east  for  the  spirits  of  the  dead  to  go  to.  He  pulled  out  a 
whisker  and  pointed  it  east.  This  made  a  road.  At  the  end  of  this 
road  was  a  gate.  Montakwet,  a  man  who  never  dies,  guards  this  gate. 
Just  beyond  this  gate  are  two  large  hills  constantly  moving  apart 
and  then  together.  As  they  move  apart,  an  opening  is  left  through 
which  the  spirits  may  enter. 

If  the  spirit  has  been  wicked  during  its  lifetime,  it  is  caught 
between  these  moving  hills  and  crushed;  it  then  becomes  a  rock,  bat, 
or  butterfly.  If  it  has  lived  a  good  life,  it  gets  through  this  opening 
safely  and  passes  into  the  regions  beyond,  known  as  Telmekish. 

Because  this  road  over  which  the  spirits  travel  is  toward  the  east, 
one  must  never  lie  with  his  head  in  that  direction  while  sleeping; 
death  might  result.  It  is  well  enough  to  do  this  when  old,  for  an  old 
person  can  live  only  a  short  while  longer  anyway. 

Life  of  Mukat  and  his  people. — Mukat  and  his  people  lived  in  one 
big  house.  Animals  were  human  then.  They  were  all  very  happy 
here.  Moon  taught  the  people  many  games  and  they  loved  her  very 
much.  Every  morning  she  took  her  people  far  away  to  the  water,  and 
here  they  played  all  day  long,  returning  to  Mukat 's  house  late  in  the 
evening. 

She  taught  them  how  to  make  things.  ' '  Cat 's  cradle ' '  was  one  of 
the  games  she  taught  them.  It  was  a  game  played  by  making  fig- 


322  University  of  California  Publications  in  Am.  Arch,  and  Ethn.     [Vol.  16 

ures  by  means  of  string  twined  around  the  fingers.  There  were 
many  figures  they  had  to  know.  Later  when  they  died  and  went  to 
Telmekish,  they  had  to  know  how  to  make  these  figures  and  tell 
Montakwet,  the  guardian.  If  they  could  not  do  this,  they  were  not 
admitted. 

Moon  taught  them  that  they  would  be  getting  married  after  a  while, 
and  explained  to  them  what  this  meant.  She  said  they  would  have 
children;  that  they  must  name  their  children  and  have  songs  for 
them.  She  said  these  children  should  be  instructed  in  the  right  way 
to  live ;  that  the  old  people  were  the  best  instructors. 

Rattlesnake  was  the  only  one  that  remained  at  home  all  day  with 
Mukat.  He  stayed  at  the  door  of  Mukat's  house  all  day  long.  When 
the  people  returned  at  night,  there  was  one  man  among  them  who 
always  danced  on  and  around  the  snake.  This  was  To,  the  funny 
man  whom  they  all  loved ;  he  was  very  tiny.  To  made  fun  of  Rattle 
snake  and  made  his  head  flat,  by  dancing  on  him;  it  is  still  flat. 
Rattlesnake  complained  to  Mukat  and  asked  him  what  to  do. 

At  this  time  Rattlesnake  was  not  poisonous,  for  he  had  no  teeth. 
Mukat  decided  that  Rattlesnake  should  have  teeth.  He  tried  many 
ways  of  making  them  for  him,  but  none  succeeded  until  he  pulled  some 
of  his  whiskers  out  and  used  them  for  teeth.  He  then  made  the  teeth 
poisonous  and  told  Rattlesnake  to  bite  To  when  To  came  home  that 
night  and  danced  on  him,  and  then  he  must  run  away  to  the  rocks 
so  that  no  one  could  find  him.  Accordingly,  when  the  people  returned 
that  night,  very  happy  as  usual,  To  began  dancing  on  Rattlesnake, 
but  Rattlesnake  bit  him  and  then  ran  away.  Rattlesnake  was  the 
first  to  leave  the  big  house  and  not  return. 

Moon  was  very  beautiful.  One  night  Mukat  seemed  to  notice  this 
for  the  first  time,  and  desired  her  as  his  wife.  He  did  not  tell  her, 
but  she  knew  it,  and  it  made  her  feel  very  sad,  for  he  was  her  father. 
She  decided  to  leave,  and  told  her  people.  She  told  them  that  there 
were  a  great  many  games  she  had  not  yet  taught  them,  but  that  it  was 
now  too  late.  She  said  she  would  never  die  or  have  diseases  as  other 
people  had,  for  Tamaioit  had  helped  to  create  her.  She  told  the  women 
how  to  care  for  themselves  during  menstruation  and  pregnancy ;  they 
must  not  eat  salt,  meat,  or  fat,  or  drink  cold  water.  She  showed  them 
certain  herbs  to  use  if  they  became  ill. 

That  night  she  left  and  got  beetles  and  ants  to  crawl  over  her  tracks 
so  that  no  one  would  follow  her.  Everyone  felt  very  badly  and  tried 
to  find  her.  Coyote  went  to  the  water  where  they  always  bathed  to 


1920]  Hooper:  The  Calmilla  Indians  323 

look  for  her.  He  saw  her  reflection  in  the  water  and  thought  it  was 
she.  He  jumped  in  after  her  but  couldn  't  find  her.  When  he  climbed 
out  and  looked  in  again,  he  was  sure  he  saw  her  and  again  he  jumped 
in,  with  the  same  result.  As  he  came  out  this  time,  Moon,  who  had 
gone  to  the  sky,  spat  on  him.  He  looked  up  to  see  where  the  spit 
had  come  from,  and  he  saw  her.  He  begged  her  to  return  but  she 
would  not  talk,  only  smiled.  He  then  returned  to  the  others  to  tell 
them  where  their  beloved  playmate  and  teacher  had  gone.  He  felt 
very  sad,  so  he  hung  his  head  as  he  said,  "Here  she  is,  here  she  is." 
The  people  looked  down  where  he  was  looking,  but  of  course  could 
not  see.  Finally  someone  happened  to  look  up  and  there  saw  Moon 
in  the  sky.  She  seemed  very  far  away  and  they  all  wept.  Each  night, 
for  a  long  time,  she  went  higher  up,  until  she  was  where  we  now 
see  her.3 

Soon  Mukat  decided  he  wanted  to  have  a  little  more  fun  with  his 
people.  For  several  days  he  thought  about  it.  Then  one  day  Sun 
rose  out  of  the  east.  As  soon  as  it  was  fully  light,  the  people  all 
talked  in  different  languages  and  could  not  understand  each  other. 
Sun  made  them  hot  and  many  ran  in  search  of  shade.  Many  turned 
into  trees  or  animals  or  birds.  This  probably  was  meant  to  happen 
from  the  beginning.  Those  that  looked  for  water  and  found  water, 
turned  into  sea  animals.  Those  that  looked  for  shade  turned  into 
trees.  The  people  who  stayed  with  Mukat  remained  human. 

Mukat  taught  them  how  to  make  bows  and  arrows ;  just  what  kind 
of  material  to  use,  how  to  dry  it,  and  how  to  make  arrowheads  out 
of  rock.  When  the  people  put  them  down,  after  making  them,  the 
arrows  made  a  queer  noise.  It  frightened  the  people  and  they  would 
not  touch  them.  Mukat  had  showed  them  how  to  use  these  arrows 
and  had  promised  that  the  arrows  would  not  hurt  them,  but  they  were 
afraid  when  they  heard  this  sound.  One  among  them,  Takwich,  picked 
up  an  arrow,  and  said,  "Why  be  afraid  of  this?  It  will  not  hurt 
you."  He  put  one  right  through  his  stomach  and  then  pulled  it  out 
and  it  left  no  opening.  When  they  saw  this,  the  others  were  afraid 
no  longer. 

Mukat  lined  them  up  on  two  sides  and  they  shot  at  each  other, 
as  he  had  shown  them  how  to  do.  The  dust  became  very  thick,  so 
they  stopped,  and  then  they  saw  that  several  of  their  number  were 


3  Formerly,  the  Cahuilla  would  not  look  at  the  full  moon,  for  fear  of  disease. 
If  they  ate  during  an  eclipse,  they  were  likely  to  eat  a  ' '  moon  spirit. ' '  Whoever 
died  during  an  eclipse  was  thought  to  have  eaten  one  of  these  moon  spirits. 


324  University  of  California  Publications  in  Am.  Arch,  and  Ethn.     [Vol.  16 

dead.  They  wept,  for  they  could  not  bring  them  to  life.  Mukat  told 
them  not  to  worry;  that  the  dead  would  return. 

At  night  the  people  heard  them  return,  but  it  was  only  their 
spirits.  These  spirits  could  not  find  their  abiding  place ;  they  had 
hunted  in  all  directions.  Finally  they  thought  of  Tamaioit.  They 
started  down  into  the  earth  to  find  him.  Tamaioit  heard  them  coming 
and  stopped  them  before  they  got  there.  He  told  them  that  he  was 
sorry  for  them,  that  he  had  wanted  the  people  to  live  always,  but 
that  he  saw  now  why  Mukat  had  made  them  as  he  did.  It  was  so 
there  would  be  sorrow  in  the  world.  Tamaioit  said  that,  since  they 
were  not  his  people,  he  could  do  nothing  for  them.  He  said  his  people 
were  all  happy  and  he  did  not  want  any  other  kind  down  there. 
However,  he  could  tell  them  something  that  might  bring  them  back 
to  life.  They  should  go  to  the  water  and  smear  mud  all  over  them 
selves  and  twine  brush  around  their  bodies.  They  did  as  he  advised 
them,  but  it  did  no  good. 

The  spirits  then  returned  to  Mukat  and  asked  him  where  to  go.  He 
told  them  about  Telmekish  and  that  there  was  no  sickness  or  sorrow 
there.  He  said  this  world  was  just  to  raise  children  in ;  Telmekish,  the 
next  world,  would  last  forever. 

At  the  time  Sun  came  the  people  turned  different  colors.  The 
Negroes  are  those  who  stayed  close  to  Sun.  "White  people  ran  farther 
away  than  anyone  else.  Indians  went  only  a  short  distance,  so  they 
are  brown. 

Death  of  Mukat. — Mukat  had  now  done  three  things  which  made 
his  people  very  angry.  He  had  made  Rattlesnake  bite  one  of  them, 
had  insulted  Moon,  which  made  her  leave ;  and  had  given  the  people 
bows  and  arrows  and  let  them  kill  each  other,  after  promising  them 
no  harm  should  come  to  them.  So  they  decided  to  kill  Mukat,  but 
did  not  know  how  to  do  it.  They  asked  Bear  and  Puma  to  do  so ;  but 
they  refused,  saying  it  would  be  better  for  someone  to  bewitch  his 
spirit. 

Now  Mukat  lived  right  in  the  middle  of  his  big  house  and  was 
never  seen  to  leave  there.  They  were  anxious  to  find  out  what  he  did 
at  night.  For  this  purpose,  they  appointed  the  white  lizard,  that  runs 
up  mesquite  trees,  to  get  on  top  of  the  house  and  watch  from  above 
at  night.  Nobody  saw  Lizard  go  up.  This  is  what  he  saw.  Mukat 
smoked  until  the  smoke  was  very  thick  and  all  the  people  were 
asleep ;  he  then  went  outside  to  defecate.  Lizard  heard  the  excrement 
drop  three  times.  Mukat  then  returned  to  the  house. 


1920]  Hooper:  The  Cahuilla  Indians  325 

Next  day,  Lizard  told  the  people  what  he  had  seen.  They  then 
decided  how  they  would  kill  Mukat.  They  put  small  animals  under 
the  log  to  catch  his  droppings,  but  they  were  unable  to  do  so.  Frog 
said  he  would  try.  That  night,  when  Mukat  went  outside  as  usual 
to  defecate,  Frog  caught  the  droppings  in  his  mouth.  Mukat  did  not 
hear  anything  drop  as  he  usually  did,  so  he  put  his  cane  down,  to  find 
out  what  was  the  matter.  In  feeling  around,  he  struck  frog  on  the 
back;  the  marks  can  still  be  seen  on  Frog's  back. 

Right  away,  Mukat  knew  that  something  was  wrong,  for  he  felt 
very  ill  and  weak ;  he  felt  as  though  his  soul  had  left  him.  However, 
he  pretended  that  he  did  know  what  caused  his  illness  and  asked 
many  questions  concerning  it. 

Shamans  pretended  to  help  him,  but  they  did  not  really  try,  for 
they  wanted  him  to  die.  He  asked  his  people  to  get  North  "Wind  to 
come  and  cure  him.  They  sent  Swallow  to  tell  North  Wind  that  his 
Creator  wanted  his  help.  North  Wind  said  he  would  come  in  the 
afternoon  and  for  them  to  turn  the  Creator  around  with  his  head  to 
the  north.  When  the  wind  came,  he  blew  dust  all  over  Mukat.  It 
seemed  to  help  drive  away  the  fever  for  awhile,  but  Mukat  could  not 
endure  the  dust  in  his  eyes  and  ears.  He  wanted  something  to  eat, 
so  he  sent  Crow  to  get  piyatam  (something  like  snails).  Crow  found 
plenty,  but  just  stayed  there  and  would  not  bring  them  to  Mukat. 
Mukat  next  sent  Dove  to  the  mountains  for  pine  nuts  and  Dove  really 
brought  some  back.  He  wanted  meat  and  sent  Hawk  after  it,  but 
Hawk  never  returned.  Mukat  said  his  people  had  forsaken  him  and 
he  was  very  sad.  He  asked  his  people,  the  Locusts,  to  sing  to  him  and 
cheer  him  up.  This  helped  him  for  a  time,  but  soon  he  tired  and 
asked  them  to  stop.  He  was  anxious  to  die  now;  he  said  death  was 
so  slow  in  coming. 

All  the  time  Mukat  was  ill,  Coyote  stayed  right  by  his  side.  He 
watched  him  every  minute  and  ate  all  of  his  expectorations  and  excre 
tions.  Mukat  was  afraid  of  Coyote ;  he  was  afraid  Coyote  would  eat 
his  body  when  he  died.  Because  of  this,  he  asked  his  people  to  send 
Coyote  far  away  to  get  fire  to  light  his  pyre,  for  he  felt  that  death 
was  very  near.  Coyote  did  not  want  to  go,  but  they  told  him  it  was 
his  duty  to  do  so,  since  he  was  the  fastest  runner. 

Mukat  kept  wondering  in  what  moon  he  would  die,  and  repeated 
the  names  of  the  moons  over  and  over.  He  sang  all  the  time,  knowing 
he  was  dying.  This  was  to  send  his  spirit  to  Telmekish.  This  is  the 
reason  people  sing  now  when  one  of  their  number  is  dying. 


326  University  of  California  Publications  in  Am.  Arch,  and  Ethn.     [Vol.  16 

Soon  he  could  not  move,  and  then  he  died.  The  people  dug  a  hole 
in  the  ground  and  placed  his  body  in  it.  Animals  with  big  claws 
dug  this  hole.  The  Quail  carried  the  wood  for  the  fire,  on  their  heads, 
to  the  pit.  Fly  then  made  fire  by  rubbing  small  pieces  of  wood 
between  his  feet ;  he  has  been  rubbing  his  feet  together  in  this  manner 
ever  since.  When  the  fire  was  lighted,  the  people  gathered  round  it. 

During  this  time,  Coyote  was  on  his  way  for  the  fire,  but  kept 
looking  back  constantly.  Soon  he  saw  the  smoke  and  knew  that  they 
were  burning  Mukat.  He  ran  back  as  fast  as  he  could.  As  he  drew 
near,  he  pushed  his  way  through  the  crowd,  and  jumped  over  several. 
All  of  the  body  had  burned,  except  a  small  piece  of  the  heart,  which 
is  always  the  last  to  burn.  Coyote  jumped  for  it,  and  as  he  landed 
on  it,  it  splashed  blood.  He  then  ran  to  the  mountains.  The  blood 
stains  can  still  be  seen  there. 

The  people  all  wanted  to  kill  Coyote  when  he  ran  off  with  Mukat 's 
heart,  but  they  could  not  run  fast  enough  to  catch  him. 

Conclusion. — Before  Mukat  died,  he  told  his  people  they  should 
hold  a  fiesta  once  a  year,  in  memory  of  their  dead.  He  said  they 
should  make  an  effigy  of  each  one  who  had  died  and  with  these  they 
should  dance.  This  fiesta  was  to  be  held  in  the  winter,  when  they  had 
time.  He  further  explained  that  it  would  take  six  nights ;  that  during 
the  singing  of  the  songs  which  he  had  taught  them,  all  should  sit 
quietly  on  the  ground,  around  the  fire.  One  man  must  be  appointed 
as  the  leader  of  the  singing.  He  promised  them  that  during  the 
fiesta  the  spirits  of  the  dead  would  return  for  the  last  time  and  would 
know  just  what  was  going  on.  All  of  the  facts  concerning  Mukat 
and  Tamaioit  must  be  kept  secret ;  anyone  telling  them  would  either 
die  or  become  very  ill. 

They  planned  to  make  a  fiesta  for  Mukat,  as  he  had  told  them  to 
do,  but  they  did  not  invite  Coyote.  He  found  out  about  it,  however, 
and  came.  By  that  time,  the  people  were  no  longer  angry  at  him. 
When  he  returned  he  was  very  thin. 

All  were  sad  after  Mukat  died.  Coyote  said,  "Let's  live  in  a 
different  house  and  burn  this  one,  so  as  not  to  think  about  Mukat  so 
much."  This  they  decided  to  do. 

When  they  were  ready  to  hold  the  fiesta,  Coyote  told  them  he  knew 
what  to  make  effigies  of,  and  offered  to  go  to  the  end  of  the  world 
to  get  it.  Misvut  (a  seaweed)  was  what  he  got.  It  grew  far  under 
the  water.  It  had  probably  been  made  in  the  beginning  for  this 
purpose. 


1920]  Hooper:  The  Cahuilla  Indians  327 

After  Coyote  made  the  body  out  of  this,  he  made  the  eyes  out  of 
shells  and  decorated  the  body  with  feathers.  Then  they  held  a  fiesta 
and  Coyote  was  Net  (chief).  They  have  been  doing  this  ever  since, 
when  a  person  dies. 

In  the  new  house  the  people  now  lived  in,  Coyote  became  one  of  the 
pillars  ( ?).  However,  they  did  not  like  that,  so  they  made  a  roof  of 
him.  Before  that,  Coyote  sang  a  great  deal ;  he  divided  the  songs 
into  Mukat  or  Wildcat  songs,  and  Tamaioit  or  Coyote  songs.  Because 
of  this,  the  Wildcat  people  sing  Mukat  songs,  and  the  Coyote  people 
sing  Tamaioit  songs.  During  the  time  that  Mukat  and  Tamaioit  were 
in  the  stomach  of  the  darkness,  they  had  decided  that  Mukat  would 
be  a  Tukut  (wildcat  person),  Tamaioit  an  Isil  (coyote  person). 

During  that  first  fiesta,  the  Isil  people  wanted  some  more  misvut. 
When  they  went  to  get  it,  the  water  bubbled  and  made  a  queer  noise. 
It  was  talking  to  them,  but  they  could  not  understand  it  at  first. 
Soon  they  understood  that  Misvut  was  asking  them  what  they  wanted. 
They  told  him  they  wanted  the  big  stone,  sharvovoshal,  which  was  to 
pound  things  on,  more  misvut,  and  a  pipe  made  of  rock.  The  misvut 
was  always  kept  rolled  up  and  had  a  stone  pipe  in  it.  Net  had  given 
a  feast  in  order  to  get  this  pipe,  for  Mukat  had  told  them  that  this 
was  necessary.  This  pipe  is  used  only  at  fiestas  and  can  be  obtained 
only  after  the  Net  has  given  a  feast. 

As  soon  as  the  new  home  that  Coyote  had  suggested  was  built, 
the  people  scattered.  When  they  got  tired  of  wandering  some  turned 
into  trees  and  deer.  A  few  went  out  at  midnight  and  therefore 
became  dark-skinned.  Some  went  in  the  daylight  and  so  were  white. 
Some  went  early  in  the  morning  and  are  brown-skinned. 

After  Mukat  died,  Crow  returned  to  where  he  had  been  burned, 
fell  down  into  the  pit,  and  thus  became  black.  Buzzard  also  did  this, 
and  his  head  has  been  bald  ever  since.  The  white-spotted  hawk  fell 
in  and  became  a  mottled  color. 

One  day,  Buzzard  saw  a  lot  of  queer  looking  things  growing  out 
of  the  pit  where  Mukat 's  body  had  been  burned.  He  told  the  people 
about  them.  These  things  were  different  kinds  of  vegetables,  but 
they  had  never  heard  of  such  things,  and  did  not  know  what  to  do 
with  them.  They  decided  to  send  Palmechewet,  the  man  who  never 
slept,  to  Mukat  to  ask  him  what  they  were  for. 

Palmechewet  started  out  to  find  Mukat,  and  as  he  was  going 
through  the  brush  and  mountains,  he  constantly  prayed  to  Mukat  to 
guide  him  to  his  abode.  Finally  he  heard  Mukat  but  could  not  see 


328  University  of  California  Publications  in  Am.  Arch,  and  Ethn.     [Vol.  16 

him.  Mukat  said,  "Those  things  are  to  eat.  You  killed  me  before  I 
had  a  chance  to  teach  you  about  them.  Tobacco  is  for  the  old  people 
to  smoke.  The  melons  grow  from  my  skull ;  pumpkins  from  my 
stomach;  corn  from  my  teeth.4  Return  to  my  people  and  tell  them 
that  all  of  these  things  are  good."  Palmechewet  returned  to  the 
people  and  repeated  these  words.  They  had  never  eaten  vegetables 
before. 


RELIGIOUS   LIFE 

MOURNING  COMMEMOEATION  AND  FIESTA  WEEK 

The  most  important  ceremony  of  the  Cahuilla  always  has  been 
and  still  is  the  annual  tribal  mourning  gathering,  known  as  Nukil,  or 
Henmukuwin.  This  ceremony  is  held  because  Mukat  told  the  people 
they  should  have  one  each  year  in  memory  of  their  dead.  It  was  the 
first  ceremony  they  ever  held ;  the  first  time  it  was  held  was  after  the 
death  of  Mukat.  Mukat  had  told  them  just  how  many  nights  to  have 
it  and  what  to  do  each  night.  It  is  very  sacred  to  them. 

Each  clan  has  a  hereditary  chief  called  a  Net,  whose  chief  duties 
are  in  connection  with  the  mourning  ceremonies.  The  chief  has  two 
ceremonial  assistants,  Paha  and  Takwa. 

The  Net  has  complete  charge  of  the  fiesta.  The  Paha  has  charge 
of  the  singing  and  of  leading  the  ceremonies:  he  starts  everything. 
Takwa  superintends  the  gathering  and  distribution  of  food.  He  lets 
each  member  of  the  clan  know  how  much  food  he  is  expected  to 
furnish  and  sees  that  it  is  actually  provided.  At  the  fiesta  at  Agua 
Caliente,  old  Orenes  was  Takwa.  He  and  his  helpers  skinned  hun 
dreds  of  rabbits  which  the  young  men  had  killed.  The  first  three 
mornings  of  the  fiesta  week,  the  young  men  hunt  rabbits.  While  I 
was  there,  the  skins  were  being  saved  for  an  old  woman  who  was 
going  to  weave  blankets  from  them. 

The  fiesta  is  always  held  in  the  fall  or  winter  when  the  people  have 
plenty  of  leisure. 

Several  months  beforehand,  the  Net  gathers  the  old  men  of  the 
clan  together  and  they  decide  what  people  they  will  "call"  to  partici 
pate  in  the  fiesta.  After  this  is  decided,  the  Net  appoints  one  man 


*  These  are  the  characteristic  plants  of  native  agriculture.  The  Cahuilla  have 
never  been  reported  as  having  farmed  before  the  advent  of  the  Spaniards,  but  the 
neighboring  Yuman  tribes  on  the  Colorado  River  grew  these  plants,  except  perhaps 
melons. 


1920]  Hooper:  The  Cahuilla  Indians  329 

to  inform  these  people  that  they  have  been  ' '  called. ' '  In  return,  this 
man  is  given  some  article  or  money,  which  means  that  the  invitation  is 
accepted.  This  is  then  given  to  the  Net.  The  next  year,  when  the 
Net  is  invited  to  a  fiesta  at  that  place,  he  returns  the  gift. 

The  fiesta  is  held  in  the  kishumnawat,  which  .is  the  ceremonial 
house.  At  the  present  time  it  is  made  of  arrow-weed  and  palm  leaves 
plastered  together,  with  a  thin  covering  of  adobe.  It  is  a  circular 
house ;  the  roof  is  very  high  in  the  center  and  slopes  down  at  the  sides 
to  within  about  four  feet  of  the  ground.  There  is  a  small  smoke  hole 
in  the  top.  Upright  forked  posts  support  the  roof  beams  inside.  This 
kishumnawat  is  about  fifty  feet  in  diameter.  At  the  back  of  this  house 
a  door  opens  into  a  very  small  room  in  which  are  kept  the  ceremonial 
objects.  This  is  also  where  the  food  for  the  fiesta  is  stored  several 
days  before  it  is  to  be  used. 

The  way  in  which  the  Cahuilla  used  to  greet  their  guests  is  no 
longer  followed.  They  knew  about  what  time  in  the  afternoon  to  expect 
those  who  had  been  invited.  A  runner  was  appointed  to  watch  down 
the  road  for  them.  Here  he  would  wait  until  he  saw  them  approach 
ing.  He  wore  no  clothes,  only  a  breech  clout.  As  soon  as  he  saw 
them,  he  would  run  to  the  village  where  his  people  had  gathered  and 
would  cry,  "Wake  up,  they  come."  They  would  then  all  run  down 
the  road  to  meet  the  approaching  guests.  Certain  ones  who  had 
been  appointed  would  shoot  their  arrows  up  into  the  air  and  all  would 
shout.  Often  the  guests  brought  gifts  with  them.  The  gifts  were 
returned  to  them  later. 

Aside  from  this  greeting,  the  fiesta  of  today  is  practically  the  same 
as  it  has  been  for  many  years. 

When  the  guests  arrive,  they  go  to  the  homes  in  which  they  are  to 
stay  for  the  week  and  from  there  proceed  to  the  kishumnawat.  Here 
the  Paha  shows  each  one  where  to  seat  himself  on  the  benches  around 
the  wall.  Many  guests  come,  but  only  certain  ones  have  been  ' '  called ' ' 
to  take  part  in  the  ceremonies. 

As  soon  as  they  are  seated,  the  Net  goes  to  each  one  who  has  been 
''called,"  kneels  in  front  of  him,  tells  him  he  is  welcome,  talks  for  a 
minute  in  a  low  voice,  then  gives  him  a  package  of  tobacco,  and  each 
of  them  rolls  a  cigarette.  The  guest  gives  him  something  tied  up  in 
a  handkerchief  in  return.  Sometimes  it  is  shell  money  or  even  real 
money. 

After  each  one  has  been  welcomed  in  this  way,  the  Paha  tells 
all  of  them  to  come  and  eat.  No  matter  what  time  of  day  it  is,  they 


330  University  of  California  Publications  in  Am.  Arch,  and  Ethn.     [Vol.  16 

sit  down  at  a  long  table  and  eat.  The  table  is  there  in  the  kishumna- 
wat.  The  food  is  usually  bread,  coffee,  and  a  rabbit  stew.  It  is 
prepared  in  one  corner  of  the  house  by  the  old  women,  over  a  fire 
built  on  the  ground.  Very  little  talking  goes  on  at  this  time.  It  seems 
to  be  quite  a  serious  affair  with  them. 

The  fiesta  begins  on  Monday  night  and  continues  for  six  nights. 
The  first  three  nights,  the  old  people  gather  around  the  fire  in  the 
kishumnawat.  A  tobacco  can  is  passed  around  constantly  and  both 
men  and  women  smoke  all  night.  The  Paha  starts  the  songs.  During 
these  nights,  the  Creation  story  is  sung  in  a  queer  minor  chanting 
tone.  They  stop  every  few  minutes ;  the  Paha  utters  a  queer  grunt 
ing  sound,  throws  his  head  back  and  blows  up  in  the  air.  The  others 
do  the  same  thing  after  him.  After  two  or  three  minutes  they  con 
tinue  singing.  Occasionally,  during  these  three  nights,  the  medicine 
men  dance. 

I  attended  two  fiestas,  one  at  the  Torres  reservation,  the  first  week 
in  January,  the  other  at  Agua  Caliente  in  Palm  Springs  Valley5  in 
February.  At  the  fiesta  at  Torres,  the  medicine  men  performed 
several  wonderful  tricks.  The  natives  still  consider  them  to  have 
supernatural  power,  and  all  have  the  greatest  faith  in  them.  The 
one  I  saw  perform  was  Casimiro.  He  got  up  and  tied  a  band  around 
his  head.  In  this,  he  stuck  three  bunches  of  owl  feathers  and  held 
one  bunch  in  his  hand.  He  then  began  to  jump  up  and  down  and 
shuffle  around  the  fire,  constantly  singing  his  song  and  occasionally 
stopping  to  grunt  and  blow  up  in  the  air  three  times,  motioning 
upwards  with  his  hands  at  the  same  time.  When  he  did  this,  the 
others  all  imitated  him.  After  singing  for  a  certain  length  of  time, 
he  began  to  shake  so  hard  that  he  could  scarcely  stand.  It  was  a  sort 
of  even  trembling  all  over.  The  bunch  of  owl  feathers  which  he  held  in 
his  hand  was  fastened  to  a  stick  about  eight  inches  long  and  half  an 
inch  in  diameter.  This  he  stuck  down  his  throat  three  times.  The 
third  time,  he  brought  out  of  his  throat  a  small  black-looking  object 
and  held  it  down  by  the  fire  so  that  we  might  all  see  it.  I  could  not 
see  it  well  enough  to  tell  what  it  was.  When  I  inquired  later,  I  was 
told  that  it  was  something  taken  from  his  heart,  probably  a  lizard. 
The  shaking  always  occurs  before  they  take  things  out  of  their 
"heart":  it  is  caused  by  the  desire  of  this  object  in  the  heart  to  get 
out.  As  soon  as  it  is  removed,  the  shaking  ceases.  This  object  is 


s  This  Agua  Caliente  must  not  be  confused  with  the  old  Cupefio  settlement  of 
Agua  Caliente  on  Warner's  Eanch  in  San  Diego  County. 


1920]  Hooper:  The  Cahuitta  Indians  331 

called  a  takwia.  One  takwia  does  not  always  look  like  another,  for 
different  medicine  men  have  different  objects  in  their  hearts. 

After  Casimiro  took  the  dark  object  from  his  heart,  he  reached  into 
the  fire  with  his  foot  and  kicked  out  a  few  coals.  One  of  these  he 
picked  up :  it  was  about  the  size  of  a  dollar.  He  immediately  put  it 
into  his  mouth.  I  was  only  a  few  feet  away  and  one  of  the  sparks 
from  his  mouth,  as  he  blew,  fell  on  my  hand,  so  I  can  testify  that 
they  were  hot.  The  glow  from  the  coal  could  be  seen  on  the  roof 
of  his  mouth.  He  swallowed  it  in  about  a  minute.  He  swallowed 
three  coals  in  this  way.  I  saw  two  other  men  do  the  same  thing. 

The  medicine  men  claim  they  get  the  powrer  to  do  such  things  from 
a  special  guardian  spirit.  They  have  first  to  sing  a  song  which  is  a 
sort  of  prayer  to  that  spirit.  They  assert  that  they  are  never  burned. 

During  these  three  nights,  young  men  often  dance  for  the  first 
time.  They  put  the  feathers  in  their  hair  in  the  same  way  and  sing. 

One  night,  while  I  was  watching  them,  an  old  man  by  the  name  of 
Ormega  got  up  to  dance.  He  danced  and  sang  for  a  while,  then 
stopped,  said  a  few  words  to  the  Paha,  and  sat  down,  to  the  surprise, 
apparently,  of  every  one  present.  My  interpreter  explained  to  me 
that  Ormega  had  intended  to  eat  fire,  but  that  his  song  had  not  gone 
right ;  he  had  forgotten  part  of  it,  no  doubt  due  to  some  disturbing 
influence  among  those  watching,  or  perhaps  because  of  some  spirit 
preventing  his  success.  Since  his  song  did  not  go  right,  he  could  do 
nothing.  He  was  a  man  who  usually  did  great  things. 

The  next  three  nights  are  given  over  to  the  guests  to  sing  their 
own  songs.  They  sing  all  night  long.  A  great  many  go  to  sleep  before 
morning,  but  there  are  always  a  few  who  sing  the  night  through.  The 
women  and  children  lie  around  011  the  floor  asleep,  behind  the  men 
who  are  singing. 

On  the  last  night,  just  before  sunrise,  the  dance  of  the  effigies  is 
held.  During  the  week,  effigies  of  the  people  who  have  died  during 
the  past  year  and  for  whom  the  fiesta  is  being  held,  are  made.  The 
immediate  families  of  the  deceased  make  the  images.  They  are  made 
just  the  size  of  the  dead  persons  whom  they  represent.  They  are 
made  out  of  matting  or  cloth,  stuffed  with  grass,  and  dressed.  But 
tons  or  coins  are  used  to  represent  eyes;  nose  and  ears  are  made  of 
cloth  and  sewed  on.  A  human  hair  wig  is  made  and  placed  on  each 
effigy.  They  are  dressed  in  considerable  finery.  I  saw  one  with 
earrings  and  a  hat  and  veil.  These  images  are  kept  hidden  until  the 
time  for  the  dance. 


332  University  of  California  Publications  in  Am.  Arch,  and  Ethn.     [Vol.  16 

The  ceremony  begins  before  sunrise  in  the  kishumnawat  (big 
house).  It  is  started  by  giving  presents  to  the  guests.  When  I  was 
a  witness,  the  women  wore  large  aprons,  and  four  pans  of  mesquite 
meal  were  turned  into  each  woman's  apron. 

The  effigies  are  then  brought  out,  each  one  carried  by  a  female 
relative.  They  form  a  procession  led  by  the  Net,  The  women  carry 
ing  the  effigies  follow  him,  two  by  two,  the  other  people  following 
closely.  This  procession  goes  around  the  interior  of  the  big  house 
and  back — then  out  into  the  enclosure  that  surrounds  it.  During  this 
part  of  the  ceremony,  a  low  chant  is  sung,  with  an  occasional  wail  here 
and  there.  While  walking  in  this  procession,  they  come  down  more 
firmly  on  one  foot  than  the  other,  keeping  time  with  the  music. 

When  they  stop  marching,  the  women  holding  the  effigies  gather 
in  a  circle  just  outside  the  big  house.  Here  they  dance  and  sing 
amid  great  wailing  on  all  sides.  The  dance  consists  in  stooping  over, 
drawing  themselves  up  on  their  toes,  and  coming  down  on  their  heels 
rather  hard,  while  they  are  singing.  After  they  have  done  this  for 
a  few  minutes,  the  other  members  of  the  clan  throw  money  and  calico 
on  the  images.  This  is  done  as  a  sign  of  respect  to  the  dead.  No 
member  of  the  clan  may  pick  up  the  money  or  calico,  but  outsiders  are 
not  slow  in  doing  so.  Many  yards  of  calico  are  thrown  away  at  this 
time.  I  saw  one  small  white  boy  go  right  in  among  them  and  pick 
up  money  as  fast  as  it  was  thrown.  After  it  was  over,  he  had  eleven 
dollars  in  small  change.  There  was  a  great  deal  more  than  that 
thrown,  for  many  others  were  picking  up  the  money,  too.  As  fast 
as  it  was  thrown,  people  grabbed  for  it. 

They  dance  a  while  longer,  then  the  women  with  the  effigies  march 
out  in  single  file  to  the  graveyard  and  there  burn  them.  No  one  is 
allowed  to  witness  this,  so  I  do  not  know  what  is  done  there. 

After  the  women  have  gone  to  the  graveyard,  the  Net  goes  to  each 
one  who  has  been  ' '  called ' '  to  the  fiesta  and  presents  him  with  a  long 
string  of  shell  money.  These  shells  are  small  round  disks.  They  say 
that  these  strings  have  been  handed  down  for  many  generations  and 
are  considered  very  valuable.  The  ones  who  receive  the  strings  of 
shells  thank  the  Net.  They  then  depart.  The  fiesta  is  over. 

The  next  year,  these  shell  strings  are  returned  in  the  same  way 
in  which  they  were  received.  In  this  way  the  shells  pass  from  one 
village  to  another. 


1920]  Hooper:  The  Cahuilla  Indians  333 

Often  cooking  utensils  are  given  to  the  women  when  they  leave. 
The  givers  may  have  received  these  same  utensils  the  year  before  from 
the  same  ones  to  whom  they  are  now  returning  them. 

During  fiesta  week,  the  ceremonies  have  been  carried  on  and 
attended  to  by  the  old  people  only.  While  they  are  singing  and 
dancing  in  the  kishumnawat,  the  younger  people  play  tepanish  or 
peon,  as  the  native  gambling  game  is  known  in  Spanish.  This  has 
become  part  of  the  fiesta,  and  appears  to  have  a  religious  significance. 
Peon  has  been  previously  described.6  They  play  it  all  night  and  a 
great  deal  of  money  is  put  up.  It  is  an  intensely  interesting  game, 
even  to  the  spectator. 

During  these  six  nights,  lunch  counters  are  run  by  the  Indians. 
They  sell  tamales,  pie,  and  coffee.  On  the  cold  winter  nights  the 
coffee  serves  to  keep  one  not  only  warm  but  awake. 


SHAMANISM 

The  Cahuilla  retain  to  this  day  the  greatest  faith  in  the  shaman. 
These  medicine  men  are  still  common  among  them  and  continue  the 
practice  of  healing  through  supernatural  power  much  as  they  used 
to  do  long  ago. 

As  a  rule,  the  Indians  speak  of  a  shaman  as  a  "witch-man"  in 
English,  or  "hechizero"  in  Spanish.  The  Cahuilla  name  is  pul. 
They  have  absolute  faith  in  his  power.  Even  the  young  people,  who 
have  had  the  advantage  of  an  excellent  education  and  many  years 
of  contact  with  white  people,  retain  this  confidence. 

There  seem  to  be  more  shamans  among  the  Desert  Cahuilla  than 
among  the  Pass  Cahuilla,  at  least  more  who  are  still  keeping  up  their 
practice.  This  may  be  accounted  for  by  the  fact  that  the  entire 
manner  of  living  is  more  primitive  in  the  desert ;  also  there  is  not  such 
intimate  contact  with  white  people,  for  the  desert  reservations  are 
more  isolated  than  other  reservations. 

In  the  beginning,  before  Mukat  died,  it  is  said  that  he  gave  to 
certain  individuals  special  powers,  such  as  curing  disease — to  each 
one  the  power  of  curing  a  certain  disease.  There  were  specialists  in 
those  days  even  as  now.  He  also  taught  them  the  language  of  animals 
and  birds  and  gave  them  powers  with  reference  to  spirits  and  death. 


«C.  G.  DuBois,  present  series,  vin,  167,  1908;  P.  S.  Sparkman,  ibid.,  212,  1908; 
T.  T.  Waterman,  ibid.,  330,  1910. 


334  University  of  California  Publications  in  Am.  Arch,  and  Ethn.     [Vol.  16 

Takwich  was  the  first  medicine  man  appointed  by  Mukat,  and 
the  most  powerful.  He  still  holds  an  important  place,  which  is  dis 
cussed  under  Tales  and  Beliefs. 

Mukat  is  still  giving  supernatural  power  to  individuals.  This  he 
now  does  in  their  dreams,  through  the  medium  of  a  guardian  spirit. 
This  spirit  visits  the  future  medicine  man  in  his  dreams.  The  con 
nection  thus  established  between  them  is  the  source  and  basis  of  the 
shaman's  power.  From  it,  he  receives  the  song  which  must  always 
precede  a  supernatural  act,  the  knowledge  which  enables  him  to 
remove  disease,  and  gives  him  the  power  to  do  and  endure  what  other 
men  can  not. 

Takwich  seems  to  be  the  guardian  spirit  of  most  of  the  medicine 
men,  though  many  get  their  power  from  other  spirits. 

Contradictory  accounts  were  told  me  as  to  when  these  dreams  first 
occur.  Several  times  I  was  told  that  they  occur  in  early  childhood. 
When  this  happens,  the  child  never  relates  the  dream.  He  is  usually 
a  sick  child  or  cries  a  great  deal.  If  an  old  man  attempts  to  cure 
him  by  the  sucking  process,  he  sucks  the  power  out  of  him  and  the 
boy  will  never  become  a  medicine  man.  The  child  dreams  the  same 
thing  many  times.  In  the  dream  is  revealed  what  he  will  be  able  to 
do  and  just  how  to  do  it ;  for  instance,  how  to  eat  fire.  When  he 
becomes  a  young  man  of  about  eighteen  or  twenty  years  he  tells  his 
grandparents  that  he  wishes  to  dance  and  his  grandparents  tell  the 
Net.  A  gathering  of  the  village  is  then  called  at  the  kishumnawat,  the 
ceremonial  house.  Here  the  young  man  gives  a  feast  to  the  people. 
If  he  does  not  do  this,  he  will  not  be  successful  when  he  dances  and 
he  may  die. 

After  the  feast  he  must  dance  or  some  evil  will  befall  him.  He  is 
usually  very  timid  about  it.  He  is  given  three  nights.  The  first  night 
he  dances  and  sings  one  song,  the  second  night  two  songs,  and  the 
third  night  three  songs.  If  he  can  successfully  sing  these  three  songs, 
and  dance,  he  is  reputed  a  witch-man.  From  that  time  he  can  do 
many  things  which  others  can  not  do.  At  first,  he  can  do  only  a 
few  things,  but  the  older  he  gets,  the  more  powerful  he  becomes. 
Whenever  he  is  called  upon  to  cure  a  sick  person,  he  must  go,  no 
matter  what  the  hour  may  be.  He  may  not  accept  pay  in  return,  while 
he  is  young.  When  he  becomes  old,  he  may  do  so,  for  he  will  then 
need  the  aid.  He  must  never  reveal  the  secrets  learned  in  the  dreams. 

Shamans  can  usually  tell  when  they  look  at  children  whether  they 
will  be  medicine  men  when  they  grow  up  or  not,  but  may  not  make 
this  known. 


1920]  Hooper:  The  Cahuilla  Indians  335 

Old  Ambrosio,  the  famous  fire-eater,  told  me  that  he  did  not  dream 
when  he  was  a  child.  He  said  it  was  not  until  he  was  about  forty 
years  old  that  he  dreamed  and  then  at  once  he  could  eat  fire  and 
perform  many  marvelous  tricks.  He  also  said  that  the  first  time  that 
he  sang  his  songs  and  performed  his  tricks  was  in  the  kishumnawat 
before  all  the  people,  that  he  had  not  had  to  practice  them  alone  before 
hand  as  I  had  been  told  all  witch-men  did. 

One  informant  stated  that  a  shaman  got  his  power  by  dreaming 
during  childhood,  and  that  when  he  grew  up  he  usually  met  his 
guardian  spirit  while  out  hunting  and  all  alone.  It  was  then  that 
he  was  given  directions  as  to  what  to  do.  This  was  the  only  informa 
tion  I  had  of  the  acquiring  of  power  by  the  Cahuilla  through  the 
"waking  vision." 

In  their  dreams,  the  shamans  are  taught  what  herbs  to  use  in 
specific  diseases.  There  appear  to  be  two  kinds  of  medicine  men : 
the  herb  doctor  and  the  "spell"  doctor;  but  the  herb  doctor  often 
resorts  to  the  methods  employed  by  the  spell  doctor,  and  vice  versa. 

The  method  of  curing  disease  or  pain  most  often  practiced  is  that 
of  sucking.  Disease  here,  as  among  so  many  primitive  people,  is  held 
to  be  the  result  of  some  small  material  object  entering  the  body  in  a 
supernatural  way. 

The  sucking  is  performed  directly  by  the  mouth  upon  the  part  of 
the  body  affected.  Sometimes  they  pretend  to  draw  out  dark  fluid; 
more  often  it  is  a  small  black  object.  Several  times  it  was  described 
to  me  as  looking  like  flakes  of  snow.  There  are  many  ideas  on  the 
subject.  It  is  extracted  by  the  witch-man  without  an  incision  or 
trace  of  its  passage.  No  one  but  he  can  see  plainly  what  he  has  taken 
out  by  this  sucking.  This  is  because  only  he  can  see  spirits  or  super 
natural  objects.  Others  have  at  times  caught  a  hasty  glimpse  of  the 
object. 

Occasionally  pain  is  caused  by  what  we  should  call  an  organic 
disease.  This  must  be  cured  by  sucking,  too.  Lee  Orenes  and  his  wife 
are  well  educated  Indians  of  Agua  Caliente.  She  was  very  ill  with 
stomach  trouble,  and  went  to  Dr.  Coffman,  a  white  man,  for  help. 
He  gave  her  some  pills  but  she  became  worse.  She  then  went  to  her 
father-in-law,  old  Orenes.  He  placed  his  mouth  on  her  stomach  and 
not  only  sucked  away  the  pain  but  the  pills  which  Dr.  Coffman  had 
given  her. 

There  was  a  Mexican  woman  who  lived  near  the  Indians.  She 
had  some  kind  of  brain  trouble  and  suffered  a  great  deal.  The 


336  University  of  California  Publications  in  Am.  Arch,  and  Ethn.     [Vol.  16 

Mexican  doctors  could  do  nothing  for  her,  so  she  asked  an  Indian 
medicine  man  to  help  her.  He  sucked  out  the  bad  part  of  her  brain 
and  put  it  on  a  plate  and  showed  it  to  her.  She  became  well  at  once, 
the  informant  deposes. 

A  snake  bite  is  always  treated  in  this  way. 

Sucking,  however,  is  not  the  only  method  of  cure  employed. 
Blowing  or  spitting  over  patients  and  stroking  or  rubbing  their  bodies 
were  also  resorted  to.  A  fever  was  usually  treated  by  blowing  on 
the  body.  Many  cases  of  immediate  cures  in  this  way  were  related 
to  me. 

There  was  one  woman  who  had  not  menstruated  for  many  months. 
,She  went  to  Francisco  Torres  to  be  cured.  The  next  time  it  was 
new  moon,  he  inserted  a  long  stick  in  his  nose  and  caused  his  nose 
to  bleed.  This  blood  he  caught  in  his  hands  and  rubbed  on  her 
abdomen.  The  next  day,  she  menstruated  and  had  no  trouble  there 
after.  The  moon  is  said  to  have  influence  over  menses. 

One  man  at  Martinez  had  a  unique  method  of  driving  away  the 
disease  pain.  This  was  by  butting  with  his  head  against  the  body  of 
his  patient,  at  the  same  time  uttering  sounds  "and  going  through 
certain  motions  with  his  hands. 

In  my  discussion  of  the  fiesta  week,  I  have  described  the  fire-eating 
ceremony.  This,  more  than  anything  else,  seems  to  hold  the  Indians 
to  their  faith  in  the  shamans,  even  to  this  day.  They  consider  it  a 
proof  that  the  witch-man  has  help  from  some  spiritual  being. 

It  is  said  that  about  thirty  years  ago  when  the  medicine  men  were 
still  at  the  height  of  their  power,  many  marvelous  deeds  were 
performed.  In  those  times,  during  a  fiesta,  competitions  between 
the  various  witch-men  were  held  to  determine  which  was  the  most 
powerful. 

When  performing  these  feats  the  medicine  men  must  never  be 
disturbed.  A  story  is  told  of  one  man  who  used  to  go  out  in  the 
brush  each  day,  scalp  himself,  and  after  a  while  replace  his  scalp 
and  come  home.  One  day,  some  hunters  saw  him  do  this  and  cried 
out.  The  man's  scalp  immediately  dried  up  and  he  died. 

One  incident  occurred  at  one  of  these  competitions  which  has  been 
related  to  me  by  several  informants.  They  say  that  Luis  Quintano, 
who  has  an  unusual  amount  of  hair,  took  red-hot  coals  of  fire  and 
put  them  all  over  his  head  and  let  them  stay  there.  One  old  man 
who  was  looking  on  became  so  frightened  that  he  ran  up  to  Luis  and 
tried  to  put  the  fire  out.  In  doing  this,  he  accidentally  touched  the 


1920]  Hooper:  The  Cahuilla  Indians  337 

skin  on  Luis's  neck.  For  a  long  time  that  spot  on  his  neck  was  sore. 
Luis  still  has  the  scar  of  it.  His  hair  was  not  even  singed. 

One  man  pulled  his  entrails  out  and  hung  them  up  while  he  danced 
and  then  replaced  them. 

It  was  during  this  same  fiesta.,  so  it  is  related,  that  Juan  de  la  Cruz, 
now  living  at  Morongo,  assumed  the  shape  of  a  bear.  He  did  this 
just  as  he  finished  dancing,  then  ran  away,  so  that  they  did  not  get 
a  good  look  at  him.  He  first  began  to  growl  and  imitate  a  bear,  and 
then  he  really  assumed  its  appearance. 

Another  man  saw  a  dove  walking  around ;  he  raised  his  hands  and 
clapped  them  together.  The  dove  dropped  as  though  dead  and  blood 
flowed  from  its  mouth.  He  then  picked  it  up,  threw  it  into  the  air, 
and  it  flew  off  as  though  nothing  had  happened. 

The  people  should  always  do  as  the  witch-man  advises,  for  he  knows 
many  things  which  no  one  else  does.  He  understands  the  language 
of  animals,  birds,  and  plants. 

Once,  during  a  fiesta,  they  were  all  in  the  big  house.  A  coyote 
howled.  The  shaman  told  the  people  that  there  would  be  an  earth 
quake,  and  they  should  come  outside.  They  laughed  at  him.  But  very 
soon  there  was  an  earthquake  and  several  people  were  killed. 

Certain  animals,  birds,  and  insects  are  messengers  to  the  shaman. 
Owl,  coyote,  fox,  humming-bird,  yellow-hammer,  crow,  fly,  wood 
pecker,  blind  gopher,  skunk,  and  earth,  have  been  known  to  act  in 
this  capacity.  Through  a  message  from  one  of  these,  the  medicine 
man  knows  when  sickness  or  death  is  to  occur  among  his  people  and 
who  will  be  the  victim.  It  is  not  always  through  these  messengers 
that  he  finds  these  things  out,  however.  When  a  star  falls  at  night, 
he  knows  that  some  soul  has  left  its  owner  and  that  that  person  will 
die  soon  unless  the  soul  is  made  to  return.  When  a  portent  of  this 
kind  appears,  he  calls  the  people  together,  dances,  and  tries  to  bring 
back  the  soul  or  prevent  the  sickness,  as  the  case  may  be.  In  his  song, 
he  prays  to  his  guardian  spirit  to  help  him.  At  a  time  like  this,  owl 
or  yellow-hammer  feathers  are  worn  in  the  hair,  for  these  birds  have 
great  wisdom  and  often  give  help. 

Many  Indians  besides  medicine  men  claim  to  understand  the  cries 
of  animals  at  night.  Before  going  hunting,  they  always  listen  for 
the  owl  at  night  to  learn  if  they  are  to  have  good  luck. 

A  certain  cry  of  a  fox  at  night  means  that  death  is  to  come  to 
someone  the  following  day.  One  night  this  occurred  and  the  old  men 
warned  some  young  fellows  who  were  going  hunting  the  next  day 


338  University  of  California  Publications  in  Am.  Arch,  and  Ethn.       [Vol.  16 

not  to  go,  that  harm  would  come  to  one  of  them.  They  would  pay  no 
attention  but  went.  On  the  way,  one  man's  hat  fell  off.  He  stooped 
to  pick  it  up ;  this  occurred  several  times.  The  last  time  it  happened, 
his  horse  kicked  him  when  he  stooped,  and  he  died  from  the  effects. 
A  man 's  hat  falling  off  is  always  considered  a  sign  of  ill  omen. 

When  any  of  the  animal  messengers  are  killed,  they  can  still  be 
useful  to  the  witch-man.  Most  medicine  men  carry  a  dead  humming 
bird  in  their  pockets ;  at  least  they  used  to,  and  some  may  do  so  even 
now.  When  the  medicine  man  wishes  anything  done,  he  tells  his 
wish  to  the  dead  humming-bird  and  its  hovering  spirit  hears  and  per 
forms  the  request.  It  can  go  and  return  in  an  instant,  no  matter  how 
far  it  has  been  sent. 

A  very  few  men  claim  to  be  able  to  change  the  weather ;  they  are 
said  to  have  received  this  power  in  their  dreams.  It  is  told  that  at  one 
time  the  Cahuilla  heard  that  a  foreign  people  was  coming  into  the 
valley  to  kill  them  and  take  their  land.  One  old  man,  who  could 
change  the  weather,  caused  it  to  become  so  extremely  hot  that  the 
people  came  in  only  a  little  way  and  then  went  back.  This  man's 
guardian  spirit  was  Takwich. 

When  a  shaman  wanted  it  to  rain,  he  had  first  to  give  a  feast,  for 
that  was  what  Mukat  had  told  him  to  do.  Next  he  would  dance;  rain 
would  soon  begin  to  come  down. 

A  few  medicine  men  were  able  to  make  a  potion  which  would  give 
its  owner  sway  over  the  affections  of  the  opposite  sex.  One  man  told 
me  that  he  had  not  believed  this  was  so  until  he  had  actual  proof  with 
his  own  eyes.  The  man  speaking  was  August  Lomas,  the  best  educated 
Indian  in  the  valley.  He  then  related  to  me  what  he  considered  was 
proof.  A  man,  Celso  by  name,  from  Coahuilla,  in  the  mountains,  had 
been  given  some  of  this  love  potion  by  a  medicine  man.  Celso  was 
an  Indian  policeman.  As  a  rule,  the  policemen  are  disliked  by  the 
other  Indians,  but  they  all  liked  Celso.  This  is  because  he  has  the 
love  potion.  Whenever  he  hears  of  one  who  does  not  like  him,  he 
watches  for  that  one  to  expectorate  on  the  ground ;  he  then  puts  some 
of  the  potion  on  the  saliva.  After  that,  all  is  well.  One  day,  he  and 
August  were  eating  at  a  restaurant.  August  had  just  told  him  that 
he  did  not  believe  in  the  love  potion.  Celso  said  he  would  prove  it  to 
him.  There  was  a  Japanese  waitress  in  the  restaurant.  Celso  did 
something  with  the  love  potion  which  August  did  not  see.  In  a  few 
minutes  the  waitress  came  over  to  the  table,  stood  there,  and  gazed 
at  Celso.  She  had  a  great  deal  of  work  to  do,  but  would  not  pay 


1920]  Hooper:  The  Cahuilla  Indians  339 

attention  to  anyone  else  but  him.  Celso  told  August  that  if  he  wanted 
to  win  a  girl's  love,  all  he  usually  had  to  do  was  to  put  some  of  this 
substance  on  her  door  at  night.  The  potion  would  last  him  always,  but 
he  was  not  allowed  to  give  it  to  anyone  else  to  use,  nor  even  to  show 
it  to  anyone.  If  he  did  so,  it  would  lose  its  value,  for  it  had  been 
made  for  him  alone. 

Occasionally  a  shaman  became  too  powerful  and  the  people  feared 
him.  When  this  happened,  sooner  or  later  they  murdered  him.  One 
case  of  this  kind  which  seems  to  have  been  especially  celebrated  was 
told  me  several  times. 

A  man  whose  name  was  Tamiotemevai,  could  do  very  extraordi 
nary  things.  He  could  cut  his  stomach  open  and  have  no  apparent 
pain  and  the  opening  would  heal  in  an  instant.  He  could  pull  his 
tongue  out  until  it  was  several  feet  long.  He  could  fill  his  pipe  with 
tobacco,  hold  it  up  toward  the  sun  an  instant,  and  it  would  light. 
Tamiotemevai  was  very  cruel  to  his  wife,  so  she  left  him  and  ran 
away  toward  Torres ;  he  ran  after  her.  As  he  was  about  to  capture 
her,  the  people  seized  and  killed  him.  They  tore  him  to  pieces  that 
he  might  not  return  to  life,  for  they  had  apparently  killed  him  several 
times  before  this,  and  each  time  he  had  returned.  As  they  were  doing 
this  a  lizard  jumped  out  of  his  heart.  They  caught  and  killed  it. 
Had  they  not  done  this,  the  lizard  would  have  reassembled  the  pieces 
of  the  man's  body  and  he  would  have  lived  again,  for  the  lizard  had 
been  the  source  of  power  in  the  man.  They  buried  the  lizard  far 
underground.  Soon  afterwards,  there  was  an  earthquake.  It  was 
the  lizard  trying  to  get  out ;  but  he  did  not  succeed. 


SPIRITS 

The  Cahuilla  belief  is  that  everyone  has  a  telewel,  a  spirit  or  soul. 
This  spirit  is  very  elusive  and  may  leave  one  almost  any  time.  When 
they  dream,  this  telewel  has  left  them  and  is  really  going  through 
the  experiences  of  which  they  are  dreaming.  While  the  spirit  is 
gone,  they  cannot  wake  up.  But  if  someone  comes  and  tries  to  waken 
a  dreaming  person,  the  telewel  knows  it  and  can  return  instantly. 
However,  they  are  very  careful  not  to  waken  a  medicine  man  when 
he  is  sleeping,  for  he  may  be  dreaming.  His  spirit  has  gone  so  far 
away  and  is  so  very  busy  that  it  cannot  return  immediately.  In  case 
a  person  wakes  before  his  spirit  returns,  as  occasionally  happens,  death 
results  sooner  or  later. 


340  University  of  California  Publications  in  Am.  Arch,  and  Ethn.       [Vol.  16 

The  spirit  leaves  the  body  many  months  before  death  comes.  The 
person  to  whom  it  belongs  does  not  Jmow  this,  however.  These  wan 
dering  spirits  cause  much  trouble.  They  haunt  the  homes  of  close 
relatives.  Innumerable  instances  of  this  are  told.  For  example, 
August  Lornas  and  his  wife,  of  Martinez,  a  young  couple  of  excellent 
education,  told  me  of  an  experience  they  had  about  a  year  ago.  They 
were  in  bed  one  night  and  knew  that  they  had  locked  their  doors, 
but  they  heard  someone  come  in,  walk  .all  around  the  room,  and  then 
walk  out  again.  That  same  night,  Mrs.  Lomas's  sister  had  the  same 
thing  happen  in  her  home.  A  few  months  later  their  uncle  died,  so 
they  knew  then  that  it  was  his  telewel  that  had  been  wandering 
around. 

Sometimes,  when  the  spirit  leaves  many  months  before  death  is  to 
come,  the  person  gets  sick  and  poor  and  seems  lifeless.  Only  a  medi 
cine  man  can  cure  him.  Accordingly,  the  father  of  the  sick  man 
asks  a  shaman  to  help  get  the  telewel  back.  All  the  people  then  gather 
in  the  kishumnawat.  Usually  the  spirit  is  somewhere  in  the  neigh 
borhood  of  its  owner.  The  medicine  man  puts  feathers  in  his  hair 
and  dances,  chanting  all  the  while,  and  making  motions  with  his 
hands.  Soon  he  stops  and  puts  feathers  on  the  forehead  of  the  sick 
man  who  is  lying  near  the  fire.  He  next  begins  to  run  around  and 
make  grabbing  motions  here  and  there,  and  may  even  run  outside  the 
house.  He  is  the  only  one  who  can  see  the  telewel,  and  apparently 
he  has  located  it  and  is  trying  to  catch  it.  When  he  gets  it,  it  may 
be  a  lizard,  a  grasshopper,  or  almost  any  small  object.  I  was  told  that 
he  next  ' '  explodes ' '  it,  but  I  could  not  learn  what  that  meant.  After 
this,  he  places  it  among  the  feathers  on  the  forehead  of  the  sick  man 
and  then  takes  these  feathers  and  brushes  him  all  over.  After  a  little 
more  dancing,  the  process  of  restoring  the  spirit  is  complete.  Of 
course,  this  takes  place  at  night.  The  next  morning,  the  cured  man 
must  take  a  dip  in  cold  water. 

The  Indians  have  great  fear  of  epidemics.  Many  years  ago,  a 
smallpox  epidemic  killed  many.  Not  long  ago,  they  had  an  epidemic 
of  mumps.  They  live  such  unsanitary  lives  that  when  a  contagious 
disease  is  brought  among  them,  it  spreads  very  rapidly.  Whenever 
they  hear  of  an  epidemic  of  any  kind  in  Los  Angeles,  Riverside,  or 
San  Bernardino,  they  hold  a  meeting.  Here  the  shamans  exert  all 
their  power  to  drive  away  any  spirits  of  disease  which  may  be  among 
them,  and  to  keep  the  spirits  of  the  epidemic  where  they  are.  They 
sing  and  dance  all  night. 


1920]  Hooper:  The  Cahuilla  Indians  341 

I  was  told  that  when  people  faint,  their  spirits  have  left  them  to 
commune  with  other  spirits.  "Whether  the  fainting  is  a  cause  or  a 
result  of  this,  I  was  not  able  to  find  out. 

A  falling  star  means  that  someone's  telewel  has  departed.  If  the 
medicine  man  sees  the  star  fall,  he,  and  he  alone,  knows  whose  spirit 
it  is. 

There  are  certain  active  spirits  which  steal  a  telewel  whenever  they 
can  find  one;  often  this  is  when  a  telewel  has  left  the  body  in  which 
it  belongs,  during  a  dream.  These  evil  spirits  watch  for  falling  stars, 
they  then  know  a  telewel  is  out  wandering,  and  unless  a  medicine 
man  prevents  them,  they  seize  that  telewel.  These  evil  spirits  are : 
Takwich ;  Hulim ;  Tukaiel ;  Tenaiaukel ;  Tevlevel.  Takwich  is  the 
most  active  and  powerful  of  them. 

I  found  only  one  bit  of  evidence  to  lead  to  the  conclusion  that  the 
Cahuilla  believe  in  living  persons  being  possessed  of  evil  spirits.  This 
was  a  story  told  to  Mrs.  McCarroll,  a  white  woman,  who  was  for  many 
years  the  government  doctor  for  the  Indians  and  had  their  confidence. 

There  was  a  half-witted  Cahuilla  girl,  about  sixteen  years  old, 
Mary  Holmes  by  name,  living  with  her  parents  on  one  of  the  reserva 
tions.  She  was  of  rather  questionable  character,  so  the  school  teacher 
had  planned  to  send  her  away  to  boarding  school.  About  this  time 
an  epidemic  of  grippe  and  pneumonia  broke  out  and  many  of  the 
Cahuilla  died.  -  Dr.  McCarroll  attended  most  of  these  cases.  Finally, 
in  the  home  of  Mary  Holmes,  two  were  afflicted  in  this  way.  About 
this  time,  a  Paiute  medicine  man  came  among  the  Cahuilla.  He 
announced  that  there  was  someone  among  them  who  was  possessed  by 
an  evil  spirit  which  was  causing  the  sickness,  and  that  until  it  was 
driven  out,  the  sickness  would  continue.  For  some  reason,  Mary,  the 
half-witted  girl,  was  blamed  for  the  trouble.  She  was  taken  and  made 
to  dance  all  night  to  drive  the  evil  spirit  out.  "When  she  would  fall 
exhausted  to  the  ground,  she  was  beaten  until  she  got  up  and  danced 
some  more.  The  next  day  she  disappeared.  Word  came  later  that 
she  had  been  taken  to  Mojave  and  burned  at  sunrise ;  this  custom  was 
considered  necessary  in  such  a  case.  However,  upon  investigation  by 
the  civil  authorities,  she  was  found  in  San  Bernardino.  The  Indians 
then  explained  that  they  could  not  burn  her  because  of  the  white  man's 
law,  but  that  they  should  have  done  so.  Albert  Augustin  told  Dr. 
McCarroll  that  this  was  not  a  custom  merely  introduced  by  the  Paiute 
medicine  man,  but  that  it  was  a  belief  among  the  Cahuilla  in  olden 


342  University  of  California  Publications  in  Am.  Arch,  and  Ethn.       [Vol.  16 

times  that  the  only  way  to  get  rid  of  an  evil  spirit  was  to  burn  its 
owner  at  sunrise.  I  was  not  able  to  obtain  any  other  evidence  con 
firming  this  statement. 

After  death  occurs,  the  ghost  stays  around  its  familiar  abode  for 
a  little  while.  Basket  Chihuahua  of  Torres  relates  how  at  one  time 
he  was  sitting  just  outside  his  house,  when  he  suddenly  heard  the 
sewing  machine  running  inside,  though  there  was  no  one  there.  The 
next  day  he  heard  that  his  sister  had  died  at  that  very  hour.  This 
was  held  as  conclusive  evidence  that  her  ghost  had  been  running  the 
machine. 

One  bit  of  information  on  the  subject  of  spirits  was  volunteered 
by  Francisco  Potencio,  of  Agua  Caliente.  It  was  evolved,  as  he  said, 
from  his  own  thought  on  the  subject.  He  believes  that  our  breath  is 
our  spirit,  for  it  leaves  us  when  we  die.  Breath  is  just  like  wind,  so 
the  winds  which  we  hear  at  night  are  the  spirits  of  the  dead. 

FUTURE  LIFE 

Mukat  created  a  place  in  the  east  as  a  residence  for  the  spirits  of 
the  dead.  This  was  called  Telmikish  (compare  telewel,  spirit).  At 
the  entrance  to  Telmikish  were  two  constantly  moving  mountains  or 
large  hills.  They  would  come  together  and  separate,  ccme  together 
and  separate ;  this  movement  never  ceased. 

Montakwet  was  made  guardian  of  this  entrance,  and  he  will  never 
die.  When  the  spirits  of  the  dead  find  their  way  to  him,  he  questions 
them.  One  of  the  tests  he  puts  to  them  is  the  making  of  many  figures 
in  the  game  we  know  as  "cat's  cradle."  After  they  pass  the  tests  he 
gives  them,  they  try  to  enter  Telmikish.  If  they  have  lived  good 
lives,  been  generous  at  all  times,  thoughtful  and  respectful  to  the  old 
people,  and  have  obeyed  all  of  Mukat 's  orders,  they  pass  through  the 
entrance  without  any  trouble.  If  they  have  not  done  these  things, 
the  mountains  come  together  as  they  pass  through  and  they  are 
crushed.  When  this  happens,  the  spirits  become  bats,  butterflies, 
rocks,  or  trees  near  the  entrance. 

The  spirits  know  each  other  in  Telmikish.  Often  they  gather  and 
decide  that  they  want  a  certain  person  with  them.  This  decision 
causes  that  person  to  die  soon  after,  and  he  goes  to  his  friends  in 
Telmekish. 

Sometimes  a  man  dies  undesignedly  and  the  spirits  in  Telmikish 
have  not  been  prepared  for  his  arrival.  If  they  do  not  want  him  there, 


1920]  Hooper:  The  Cahuilla  Indians  343 

he  is  sent  back.  This  is  evidenced  by  the  fact  that  often  a  person 
who  has  apparently  died,  in  a  minute  begins  to  breathe  again.  When 
this  occurs,  the  person  who  has  died  but  come  to  life  again  must  not 
tell  what  he  saw  in  Telmikish.  At  the  end  of  three  years  he  may  tell, 
but  if  he  does  so  earlier,  he  will  die  and  his  spirit  will  be  caught 
between  the  moving  mountains. 

This  is  all  according  to  Mukat's  plan.  Many  people  do  not  pay 
any  attention  to  his  commands,  however,  especially  young  people. 
Evil  will  come  to  them  in  the  end. 


BUETAL  CUSTOMS 

As  soon  as  a  Cahuilla  dies,  he  is  washed,  dressed,  and  taken  to  the 
ceremonial  house,  kishumnawat.  The  members  of  his  clan  gather 
round  the  body  and  sing  all  night. 

If  the  deceased  was  a  man,  the  Creation  story  is  sung,  if  it  was  a 
woman,  a  song  about  the  Moon  is  sung,  for  the  Moon  was  the  teacher 
and  best  friend  of  the  women.  If  death  has  occurred  to  either  man 
or  woman  by  accident,  the  Battle  song  is  always  sung.  They  sing  for 
a  while  and  then  stop  and  cry  and  blow  upwards  three  times.  This 
is  all  done  to  send  the  spirit  to  a  peaceful  abiding  place. 

Up  to  the  time  of  contact  with  the  Mission  Fathers,  cremation  was 
universally  practiced.  After  that,  they  began  to  bury  their  dead.  One 
old  Indian  in  explaining  this  to  me  said,  "We  used  to  burn  our  dead, 
but  the  white  people  told  us  that  was  wrong.  Now  the  white  people 
do  as  we  used  to  and  burn  their  dead,  but  we  bury  ours  as  they  taught 
us  to." 

After  they  have  sung  all  night  over  the  body,  it  is  put  in  a  rude 
coffin  and  carried  to  the  Indian  graveyard.  Cloth,  food,  and  often 
bedding  also  are  put  in  the  coffin.  The  Indians  claim  it  will  be  useful 
for  the  spirit,  if  it  can  not  find  a  resting-place  elsewhere  right  away. 

If  the  dead  person  was  a  woman,  every  woman  present  picks  up 
a  handful  of  dirt,  and  drops  it  upon  the  coffin  in  passing.  If  the 
corpse  was  a  man,  the  same  thing  is  done  by  the  men  present.  Mean 
while  there  is  a  low  chanting  and  wailing  going  on  constantly. 

It  is  not  always  necessary  that  they  sing  over  the  body  the  first 
night  after  death  occurs.  For  example,  not  long  ago  a  man  was  killed 
in  Los  Angeles  by  an  automobile  running  over  him.  It  would  have 
been  expensive  and  useless  to  send  the  body  from  Los  Angeles  to 


344  University  of  California  Publications  in  Am.  Arch,  and  Ethn.       [Vol.  16 

Martinez.  A  friend  sent  part  of  the  clothing,  instead.  They  put  this 
in  a  coffin  and  sang  over  it  as  they  would  have  done  over  his  body. 

When  one  is  very  ill  and  not  expected  to  live,  he  is  removed  to 
the  kishumnawat.  Here  the  people  gather  and  sing  the  death  song 
over  him  all  night.  If  he  dies  in  the  night,  the  song  changes  instantly 
to  more  of  a  wail,  and  different  words  are  sung. 

I  was  told  by  a  white  woman  of  an  instance  where  a  small  boy 
had  his  leg  broken  while  playing.  This  was  the  second  serious  accident 
he  had  had  in  one  week.  Because  of  this,  his  people  decided  it  was 
intended  he  should  die.  Accordingly,  they  took  him  to  the  kishumna 
wat  and  sang  the  death  song  over  him.  The  poor  child  was  suffering 
greatly,  for  they  had  not  tried  to  relieve  his  pain ;  he  was  also  nearly 
frightened  to  death.  During  the  night,  the  white  woman  who  knew 
about  the  case,  sent  the  Government  doctor  to  set  the  boy's  leg.  The 
parents  objected  at  first  but  finally  consented.  They  continued,  how 
ever,  to  sing  the  death  song  over  him.  Soon  the  boy  began  to  improve, 
so  he  was  removed  to  his  home. 

Destruction  of  property  is  still  practiced.  Within  two  or  three 
days  after  the  funeral,  the  house  in  which  the  deceased  has  lived  is 
burned,  with  all  of  his  possessions. 

The  belief  in  spirits  is  very  strong.  They  believe  if  they  burn  the 
property  of  the  dead  one  and  his  place  of  habitation,  the  spirit  will 
not  return.  One  other  explanation  has  been  offered.  The  constant 
sight  of  objects  which  have  belonged  to  one  who  is  no  longer  living  or 
the  associations  attached  to  his  home  make  the  people  sad.  To  avoid 
this,  they  burn  everything  up. 

At  present,  on  some  of  the  reservations,  many  of  the  Indians  have 
rude  frame  houses.  They  do  not  burn  these  houses  after  one  death, 
but  when  there  have  been  three  deaths  in  one  home  it  is  burned. 


ENEMY  SONGS 

Up  to  a  few  years  ago,  each  clan  possessed  songs  known  as  enemy 
songs.  They  sang  them  during  fiestas  so  that  their  enemies  might 
hear  them.  Each  side  took  turns.  There  was  usually  the  kindliest 
feeling  toward  these  so-called  foes. 

This  custom  no  doubt  started  from  real  troubles,  but  after  the 
passage  of  years  the  descendants,  though  not  knowing  what  the  enmity 
had  been,  still  continued  singing  these  songs  of  ridicule  as  though  it 
were  a  religious  duty.  The  main  point  in  singing  them  seems  to 


1920]  Hooper:  The  Cahuttla  Indians  345 

have  been  to  reveal  the  fact  that  the  secret  name  of  the  opposing 
clan  had  been  discovered.  This  is  described  below  in  the  section  on 
the  naming  of  children. 

Occasionally,  hand  to  hand  fighting  started  among  the  women  on 
account  of  something  said  in  a  song.  Because  of  this,  and  because 
of  a  desire  to  prevent  any  new  enmity  being  created  among  clans,  the 
singing  of  these  songs  was  abolished  a  few  years  ago. 

The  words  of  a  few  are  as  follows : 

1.  His  food  gave  out,  his  water  gave  out, 
Leave  him  now,  go  away  from  him: 

Isilwelnet  (enemy  name) 

(Eepeated  as  many  times  as  desired.) 

2.  Bury  him  now,  plant  him  now: 

And  then  they  buried  him,  and  then  they  planted  him: 
Pehuetematewilwish. 

3.  There  stands  the  whirlwind,  there  stands  the  whirlwind, 
Where  they  burned  him,  where  they  burned  him : 

Puchueulchalmalmia. 

4.  In  the  middle  of  the  desert  land, 
Lying  on  his  back, 

Lying  on  his  stomach: 
Tamiotingish. 

5.  They  are  coming  back  again, 
They  are  coming  back  again, 
Those  moon-eaters  and  sun-eaters, 
Those  moon-eaters  and  sun-eaters. 


BOYS'  INITIATION 

It  has  been  fifty  or  sixty  years  since  these  ceremonies  have  been 
performed  among  the  Cahuilla,  and  it  is  therefore  difficult  to  get  an 
accurate  account  of  them.  Hardly  any  two  versions  agree. 

The  ceremony  of  initiating  boys  was  known  as  Hemvachlowin. 
Several  weeks  before  the  time  set  for  the  ceremony,  the  old  people  met 
together  and  decided  which  boys  were  to  be  initiated.  The  boys  chosen 
were  between  the  ages  of  ten  and  eighteen. 

About  a  week  beforehand,  certain  old  men  went  out  to  gather 
the  plant  commonly  known  as  "jimsonweed"  (Datura  stramonium). 
They  also  were  given  charge  of  the  preparation  of  the  liquid  to  be 
made  from  it.  They  placed  parts  of  it  in  jars  and  cooked  it  for  a 
long  time. 


346  University  of  California  Publications  in  Am.  Arch,  and  Ethn.       [Vol.  16 

When  the  men  went  out  to  gather  the  jimsonweed,  the  candidates 
for  initiation  were  taken  to  a  brush  enclosure  outside  the  ceremonial 
house,  made  especially  for  this  purpose.  Here  they  were  kept  for 
five  days  and  not  allowed  to  see  anyone  except  those  who  brought  them 
their  food.  They  were  fed  twice  a  day.  The  food  could  not  contain 
any  salt  or  grease. 

During  the  last  three  nights  of  the  confinement  of  the  initiates, 
the  old  people  danced  all  night.  On  the  fourth  night,  the  boys  were 
brought  out.  The  decoction  made  from  the  jimsonweed  was  then 
given  to  them  by  some  old  man  who  knew  exactly  how  much  they 
could  stand,  according  to  their  age.  The  Spanish  word  for  this  drink 
is  toloache;  the  Cahuilla  word  is  rehasawel  or  kiksawal.  The  other 
old  people  sang  while  this  drink  was  being  administered.  As  soon  as 
the  boys  had  taken  it  they  would  begin  to  dance,  but  would  shortly 
become  very  dizzy.  They  were  then  all  put  in  a  dark  corner.  It  is 
asserted  that  drinking  this  decoction  made  the  blood  and  mind  clearer. 
The  old  people  continued  dancing  around  the  fire.  They  encircled  it 
three  times  and  then  sat  down.  At  a  signal  from  the  leader,  they 
made  a  queer  grunting  sound  three  times,  then  motioned  upwards 
with  the  head  arid  hands  three  times,  expelling  the  breath  each  time. 
Right  after  that,  the  medicine  men  among  them  jumped  up  and  ran 
into  the  fire,  trying  to  stamp  it  out  with  their  bare  feet.  They  say 
this  did  not  burn  them. 

By  the  next  night,  the  bad  effects  of  the  narcotic  had  worn  off 
and  the  boys  usually  felt  about  normal.  During  the  succeeding  five 
nights  they  were  shown  how  to  dance  and  how  to  use  the  gourd  rattle 
as  an  accompaniment.  At  this  time,  they  were  also  taught  the  enemy 
songs  which  had  a  very  important  part  in  the  life  of  the  people  of 
that  time.  Each  clan  had  its  own  enemy  songs  which  it  sang  at  special 
times.  These  songs  had  been  handed  down  for  many  generations,  as 
a  rule,  and  while  there  may  not  have  been  any  real  enmity  felt  toward 
the  people  about  whom  the  songs  were  composed,  it  was  a  sacred  duty 
to  sing  them  because  their  fathers  had  done  so.  Francisco  Numbri 
of  Martinez  reservation,  says  they  had  to  commit  a  great  many  enemy 
songs  to  memory,  but  that  the  songs  were  always  short.  For  ten  or 
fifteen  days  they  spat  on  their  legs  instead  of  on  the  ground  to  remind 
themselves  that  they  must  remember  the  enemy  songs. 

During  these  nights  of  initiation,  the  boys  were  instructed  by  the 
old  men,  concerning  the  right  conduct  in  life.  For  one  month  they 
could  not  eat  meat  or  anything  containing  salt,  and  could  drink  only 
cold  water. 


1920]  Hooper:  The  Cahuilla  Indians  347 

All  this  time,  they  had  arrow-weed  twined  around  their  waists  and 
feathers  stuck  in  their  hair. 

The  parents  of  the  boys  being  initiated  did  a  great  deal  of  weeping 
at  this  time.  It  was  supposed  to  make  them  feel  very  sad  to  see  these 
ceremonies. 

Juan  Lugo  of  Agua  Caliente  reservation,  who  gave  me  the  account 
of  the  initiation  as  I  have  written  it  here,  prefaced  his  story  by  stating 
that  what  he  was  about  to  tell  me  was  absolutely  true,  for  he  had  gone 
through  this  ceremony  himself  about  sixty  years  ago. 

He  stated  that  several  men  had  died  as  a  result  of  drinking  too 
much  toloache  or  of  eating  the  wrong  thing  afterwards. 


GIELS'  ADOLESCENCE 

Until  within  a  few  years  ago,  girls'  puberty  ceremonies  were 
observed  among  the  Cahuilla.  These  were  called  Hemelonewin7  or 
sometimes  Hemelushinum.  They  were  held  at  the  time  of  a  girl's 
first  menses. 

The  father  of  the  girl  informed  the  people  of  her  condition  and 
called  them  together  for  the  ceremony,  which  began  the  first  night  of 
her  menstruation. 

A  hole  was  dug  in  the  ground  several  feet  deep  and  long  enough 
for  the  girl  to  recline  in.  In  this  stones  were  placed  and  a  fire  built 
to  heat  them.  "When  the  stones  became  hot  they  were  taken  out  and 
the  pit  filled  with  brush,  on  top  of  which  the  girl  was  placed  and 
covered  over.  Here  she  remained  three  nights,  the. pit  being  reheated 
occasionally.  In  the  daytime  she  was  kept  in  her  house. where  it  was 
warm. 

At  night,  during  the  ceremonies,  the  old  men  and  women  sang 
and  danced  around  this  pit.  The  song  they  sang  was  one  which  Moon 
had  taught  the  people  when  she  was  on  earth.  In  this  song  she 
instructed  the  girls  how  to  care  for  themselves  during  their  menstrual 
periods. 

The  only  food  the  girl  was  allowed  to  have  during  these  three  days 
was  an  herb  tea  prepared  by  the  old  women. 

One  informant  stated  that  this  same  ceremony  had  to  be  repeated 
during  the  second  menstruation.  The  same  informant  stated  that  at 
the  conclusion  of  the  second  ceremony  each  girl's  chin  was  tattooed 
before  she  was  removed  from  the  pit.  It  was  usually  just  a  spot  or 


7  Present  series,  vm,  66,  1908 :  pem-i\volu-ni\vom. 


348  University  of  California  Publications  in  Am.  Arch,  and  Ethn.       [Vol.  16 

a  streak.  For  a  few  days  after  this  operation  she  was  not  allowed 
to  walk  but  was  carried,  so  that  the  mark  on  her  chin  would  not  fade. 

There  are  many  restrictions  placed  on  Indian  girls  during  their 
menstrual  periods,  in  regard  to  the  food  which  they  may  eat.  No  meat, 
fruit,  or  salt  can  be  eaten,  nor  anything  that  has  even  been  seasoned 
with  salt.  They  should  drink  only  warm  water.  Not  only  are  they 
forbidden  to  drink  cold  water  but  also  to  wash  in  it.  They  assert  that 
salt  dries  up  the  blood  and  that  cold  water  will  stop  the  flow.  Bread, 
mush,  and  coffee  are  about  all  the  girls  can  eat  at  this  time.  By  obey 
ing  these  rules,  they  may  avoid  cramps. 

During  these  periods,  an  Indian  girl  must  not  scratch  her  body 
with  her  fingers.  This  is  especially  true  of  the  head.  If  one  finds 
it  necessary  to  scratch,  she  should  use  a  piece  of  wood,  thus  avoiding 
dandruff  and  other  skin  diseases.  At  this  time,  a  weak  tobacco  solution 
is  often  drunk  to  keep  the  body  free  from  odor.  A  menstruating  or 
pregnant  woman  was  never  allowed  to  witness  a  peon  or  any  other 
gambling  game.  It  might  turn  the  luck  at  a  critical  time. 

Before  a  girl 's  entrance  into  womanhood,  her  grandmother,  usually 
her  paternal  grandmother,  taught  her  these  things  and  other  facts  of 
life.  From  early  childhood,  she  was  taught  to  use  very  little  salt  in 
her  food,  so  that  she  might  become  accustomed  to  the  lack  of  it  by  the 
age  of  twelve  or  fourteen  years.  Mukat  and  Moon  gave  these  instruc 
tions  to  the  people  in  the  beginning,  and  at  the  same  time  taught  them 
the  use  of  many  herbs.  The  people  used  to  obey  all  of  these  directions 
very  carefully  and  a  great  many  of  them  still  do.  The  young  people, 
however,  are  not  so  particular  about  doing  so  as  they  used  to  be.  For 
this  reason,  they  are  sick  a  great  deal  and  many  die. 


EAGLE  CEEEMONY 

The  Desert  and  the  Pass  Cahuilla  did  not  observe  the  Eagle 
ceremony  but  it  used  to  have  an  important  place  in  the  lives  of  the 
Mountain  Cahuilla.  However,  I  was  not  able  to  get  any  authentic 
description  of  the  Eagle  dance  as  held  there. 

I  was  told  by  one  informant  that  in  the  days  when  the  birds  were 
human,  Eagle  was  chief  among  them.  One  time  when  the  people  were 
famishing  for  water,  Eagle  found  some  and  drank  it  all  himself. 
Later,  he  became  very  much  ashamed  of  what  he  had  done  and  went 
high  up  into  the  mountains,  where  he  would  never  have  to  see  his 
people  again.  There  he  is  still  living. 


1920]  Hooper:  The  Caliuilla  Indians  349 


SOCIAL  LIFE 

MOIETIES  AND  CLANS§ 

The  Cahuilla  are  organized  in  exogamous  moieties,  the  Wildcat 
moiety  (Tuktum),  and  the  Coyote  moiety  (Istam).  Descent  is 
reckoned  upon  the  paternal  side. 

These  two  moieties  are  divided  into  numerous  clans,  most  of  which 
appear  to  be  localized.  The  majority  of  the  clans  are  supposed  to 
have  received  their  names  from  the  place  in  which  the  people  of  the 
clan  first  lived.  Other  clan  names  became  attached  to  a  family  because 
of  some  special  characteristic  of  its  members. 

The  women  remain  in -the  same  clan  before  and  after  marriage. 

Mukat  belonged  to  the  Tuktum  moiety  for  he  was  a  Tukut. 
Tamaioit  belonged  in  the  Istam  moiety  for  he  was  an  Isil. 

Moon  was  an  Isil  for  she  was  created  by  Tamaioit. 


NAMING  OF  CHILDEEN 

A  special  ceremony  for  the  naming  of  children  used  to  be  held 
during  fiesta  week.  The  last  one  held  among  the  Cahuilla  was  sixteen 
or  seventeen  years  ago. 

One  name  was  given  a  child  while  in  infancy ;  another  at  the  age  of 
ten  or  twelve  years.  The  grandparents  chose  the  name  that  was  to  be 
given  first  and  told  the  Net  (ceremonial  chief)  what  it  was  to  be. 
Then  at  the  fiesta,  just  before  the  Effigy  dance,  the  child  was  named. 
All  the  friends  and  relatives  had  been  invited  from  far  and  near.  The 
Net  took  the  child  in  his  arms  and  pronounced  its  name  and  then  he 
and  the  other  old  men  sang  and  danced.  If  the  child  was  a  girl,  a 
song  about  certain  plants  was  sung ;  if  it  was  a  boy,  the  song  was  about 
animals.  I  was  not  able  to  get  the  words  of  these  songs.  The  name 
given  the  child  was  usually  that  of  some  ancestor. 

The  other  name  given  to  each  child  was  known  as  the  enemy  name. 
Whether  this  was  given  at  the  time  of  the  initiation  ceremony  into 
manhood  and  womanhood  I  was  not  able  to  ascertain.  I  could  find 
out  very  little  about  the  giving  of'the  enemy  name.  Some  close  rela 
tive  chose  this  name,  which  was  usually  a  long  one.  At  this  time  the 


s  This  subject  is  discussed  more  fully  by   E.  W.   Gifford   in  this   series,   XIV, 
J 86-191,  1918. 


350  University  of  California  Publications  in  Am.  Arch,  and  Ethn.       [Vol.  16 

men  danced  and  the  women  sang,  all  the  while  shaking  the  shulpaial 
(gourd  rattle).  It  was  the  object  of  each  clan  to  keep  its  so-called 
enemies  from  learning  the  secret  names  assigned  to  any  of  their 
number.  As  soon  as  the  enemy  did  find  out  a  secret  name,  it  was 
incorporated  into  the  songs,  much  to  the  chagrin  of  the  clan  by  which 
the  name  had  been  given. 

PEEGNANCY  AND  CHILDBIRTH 

An  Indian  woman  who  is  pregnant  must  be  very  careful  of  what 
she  eats  and  what  she  does,  for  there  are  many  taboos  in  connection 
with  pregnancy  and  childbirth. 

First,  in  regard  to  food.  Women  should  not  eat  any  more  than  is 
absolutely  necessary  during  the  nine  months,  but  they  should  drink  a 
great  deal  of  warm  water,  never  cold  water.  Very  little  meat  may 
be  eaten  and  no  beef.  No  salt  may  be  eaten  during  the  entire  period. 
A  woman  in  this  condition  must  not  eat  the  legs  of  game  or  the  child 
will  be  born  feet  first.  She  should  be  careful  not  to  eat  anything  that 
animals  or  birds  have  touched.  For  example,  if  the  woman  eats  fruit 
which  a  bird  has  pecked  at,  her  child  will  have  sores. 

She  should  not  look  at  animals  or  anything  ugly.  They  tell  of 
an  old  man  who  used  to  dance  the  Bird  dance.  His  wife  always 
watched  him,  at  the  time  she  was  pregnant.  Twins  were  born  to  her 
and  they  looked  like  birds  and  soon  died.  Her  people  told  her  it  was 
because  she  had  watched  her  husband  so  much  when  he  was  dressed 
like  a  bird.  Innumerable  instances  of  this  kind  were  cited.  Anyone 
who  is  affected  with  sores,  bites,  especially  snake-bites,  or  disease  must 
stay  away  from  a  pregnant  or  menstruating  woman. 

She  should  never  play  with  animals.  People  who  are  standing  near 
her  at  any  time  should  not  speak  about  animals  as  being  intelligent, 
or  in  any  way  draw  her  attention  to  them,  for  babies  often  become 
marked  in  this  way. 

It  is  considered  very  unfortunate  to  have  twins.  Little  children 
are  not  allowed  to  remark  about  their  being  pretty  when  they  see 
them.  If  they  do,  they  are  apt  to  have  twins  when  they  grow  up. 

Care  must  be  taken  as  to  the  position  a  pregnant  women  takes 
while  asleep.  If  she  sleeps  with  her  hands  folded  under  her  cheek,  the 
baby  will  come  that  way.  If  she  sleeps  with  her  hands  extended  over 
her  head,  the  child  is  likely  to  be  born  with  the  umbilical  cord  around 
its  neck. 

A  pregnant  woman  should  never  stand  or  sit  in  the  doorway  of  a 
house;  misfortune  will  come  to  her  child  if  she  does. 


1920]  Hooper:  The  Cahuilla  Indians  351 

It  is  best  for  an  expectant  mother  to  have  plenty  of  work  to  do 
during  the  nine  months,  so  that  her  child  will  be  industrious  and 
strong. 

It  is  clear  that  the  principle  of  mimetic  magic  enters  strongly  into 
these  beliefs. 

An  Indian  mother  does  not  lie  down  to  give  birth  to  her  child 
but  sits  up ;  this  is  to  prevent  piles.  If  the  placenta  is  slow  in  coming, 
the  woman  stands  up  over  a  pan  of  red  hot  coals.  As  soon  as  the 
baby  is  born,  the  mother  lies  down  in  a  pit  which  has  been  dug  in  the 
sand  and  heated  with  stones.  Hot  sand  is  then  poured  over  her.  She 
is  removed  only  to  reheat  the  sand.  This  heat  is  supposed  to  prevent 
after-birth  pains  and  to  be  very  successful.  The  woman  may  get  up 
and  go  outdoors  the  next  day  for  a  few  minutes  at  a  time,  if  it  is 
necessary.  The  rest  of  the  time  she  must  remain  in  the  sand  pit  for 
ten  or  twelve  days.  During  the  first  week,  she  lies  on  her  stomach 
most  of  the  time,  the  next,  on  her  back.  Every  morning  she  is  sponged 
off  with  hot  water. 

For  one  month  after  the  birth  of  her  child,  the  mother  must  not 
eat  meat,  potatoes,  sour  things,  anything  containing  salt,  nor  may  she 
drink  cold  water.  Rice,  corn  meal,  gravy,  and  tea  are  about  the  only 
things  allowed  her  at  this  time.  During  this  first  month,  the  father 
of  the  child  must  also  refrain  from  eating  food  containing  salt. 

While  the  mother  is  nursing  her  child,  she  and  her  husband  should 
not  sleep  together.  If  they  do,  the  mother's  milk  will  be  spoiled  and 
as  a  direct  result  the  baby  will  be  a  sickly  one.  For  this  reason,  a 
woman  who  weans  her  baby  early  is  teased  by  her  friends. 

Ashes  are  placed  on  the  child's  navel  soon  after  birth  to  help 
cure  it. 

SICKNESS9 

The  chief  disease  among  the  Cahuilla  is  said  to  be  stomach  trouble. 
Any  internal  pain  means  stomach  trouble  to  them. 

They  dislike  taking  medicine  internally.  For  this  reason,  herbs 
are  often  applied  externally.  I  saw  an  old  man  with  his  feet  in  a 
bowl  of  green-looking  fluid.  When  I  inquired  about  it,  I  was  told 
that  he  was  doing  that  to  cure  rheumatism  in  his  feet. 

Luis  Quintano  cured  rheumatism  in  his  legs  by  burning  each  one  in 
eight  different  places. 


9  Compare  also  the  previous  section  on  Shamanism. 


352  University  of  California  Publications  in  Am.  Arch,  and  Ethn.       [Vol.  16 

In  curing  a  snake  bite,  sometimes  the  sucking  process  is  used  and 
sometimes  the  application  of  a  "snake-weed."  Another  name  for  it  is 
golderino  weed.  I  was  told  that  a  snake  before  fighting  a  rattlesnake 
always  eats  some  of  this  weed  so  as  to  be  immune  to  the  poison. 

The  women  have  one  method  of  curing  pain  which  they  try  for 
everything,  and  it  appears  to  be  very  successful.  They  dig  a  pit  in 
the  sand,  heat  it  with  hot  stones,  and  remove  the  stones.  The  patient 
then  lies  in  this  hot  pit  and  is  covered  with  hot  sand.  When  the  sand 
cools,  it  is  reheated.  Hot  sand  is  applied  constantly. 

While  I  was  at  Torres  reservation,  a  woman  had  just  given  birth 
to  twins.  She  had  been  attended  only  by  one  of  her  own  family  and 
blood  poisoning  had  set  in.  She  was  in  a  terrible  condition.  They 
immediately  placed  her  in  one  of  these  hot  pits.  Treatment  such  as 
this  for  that  kind  of  a  case  would  of  course  have  proved  fatal.  A 
white  woman,  the  government  doctor,  arrived  on  the  scene  and  very 
much  against  the  will  of  the  family  and  of  the  sick  woman,  took  her 
out  of  the  pit  and  gave  her  the  proper  medical  attention. 

Dr.  McCarroll  told  me  of  many  cases  where  she  had  made  a  clean 
bed  for  some  very  sick  woman  only  to  come  the  next  day  and  find  her 
again  lying  on  the  dirt  floor. 

An  old  man  was  bitten  by  a  poisonous  black  spider.  The  shaman 
was  called  to  cure  him ;  he  applied  herbs  to  the  bite.  During  a  certain 
length  of  time  after  the  application,  the  old  man  was  not  to  sleep 
with  his  wife.  He  did  not  heed  this  order.  As  a  result,  he  started 
trembling  and  has  never  ceased.  The  old  man  was  pointed  out  to 
me  as  an  example  of  disobeying  a  medicine  man's  orders. 

SOCIAL  CUSTOMS 

Women  seem  subservient  to  the  men  at  all  times.  If  there  are 
any  chairs,  the  men  occupy  them,  while  the  women  sit  on  the  floor 
behind  them. 

Unselfishness  and  respect  for  the  old  people  is  their  ideal  of  right 
living.  Children  are  taught  from  infancy  to  be  generous  and  kind 
to  the  old. .  When  young  boys  go  hunting  they  bring  back  everything 
they  have  killed  to  their  parents  and  grandparents,  for  they  never 
eat  game  of  their  own  catching.  If  they  were  allowed  to  do  this, 
they  might  get  hungry  and  eat  it  all  before  they  got  home ;  then  the 
older  ones  who  were  not  able  to  go  hunting  would  have  no  game. 
The  young  men  might  not  eat  the  first  fruits  or  vegetables  of  the  season 
for  the  same  reason.  If  one  did,  he  was  considered  very  ill-bred  and 
discourteous  by  the  others. 


1920]  Hooper:  The  Calmilla  Indians  353 

Only  the  young  men  went  hunting.  They  had  to  be  very  careful 
what  they  ate  and  drank  before  they  went.  They  would  not  eat  soup, 
for  it  would  make  them  thirsty  on  their  long  journey  and  water  was 
scarce.  Nor  would  they  eat  meat  before  going  to  the  mountains  as 
this  might  cause  them  to  have  pains  in  the  side  while  running.  They 
drank  as  little  water  before  going  as  possible. 

Liberality  and  generosity  were  considered  the  most  important 
virtues.  The  man  who  was  the  best  hunter  was  held  in  very  high 
esteem.  The  woman  who  could  do  the  most  work  in  the  shortest  time 
was  the  ideal  woman.  Nowadays  these  things  do  not  seem  to  matter 
so  much. 

There  was  always  real  affection  between  the  members  of  an  Indian 
family  but  very  little  outward  demonstration  of  it.  Kissing  they 
considered  unclean.  A  husband  was  never  seen  kissing  his  wife. 
A  mother  never  kissed  her  son.  I  asked  what  greeting  was  extended 
by  a  mother  to  her  son  returning  from  a  long  absence.  The  reply 
was  that  there  was  no  greeting,  that  the  mother  always  wept  at  such 
a  time. 

A  father  was  not  supposed  to  fondle  his  own  children  much ;  since 
if  he  had  to  go  hunting  or  to  fight  he  might  be  gone  quite  a  while 
and  his  children  would  miss  him  if  he  had  been  too  good  to  them. 

Some  of  the  first  of  every  crop  must  always  be  given  to  the  Net, 
the  fiesta  chief.  The  man  who  fails  to  do  this  will  become  ill  and 
the  only  way  he  can  be  cured  is  for  the  medicine  man  to  take  some 
of  his  beans  away. 

The  first  courtesy  extended  to  a  guest  in  an  Indian  home  is  to 
feed  him. 

"Women  used  to  use  a  special  kind  of  clay  for  a  hair  shampoo.  It 
was  put  all  over  the  head  and  left  on  for  a  couple  of  days,  then  washed 
off,  and  it  left  the  hair  very  nice  and  fluffy.  Nowadays,  they  use  herbs 
for  this  purpose ;  there  is  one  which  acts  as  a  lather  like  soap.10 

MAEEIAGE 

Until  very  recently,  the  parents  arranged  the  marriages  of  their 
children.  A  boy's  father  decided  that  his  son  should  marry  and 
accordingly  looked  around  for  a  suitable  wife.  When  he  decided 
upon  one,  he  went  to  see  her  father  and  offered  a  couple  of  horses  or 
a  certain  amount  of  mesquite  beans  in  exchange  for  the  girl.  After 
an  agreement  was  reached,  the  girl's  mother  spoke  to  her  about  it. 


10  Probably  Chenopodium  Calif ornicum   (Barrows,  Ethnobotany,  p.  48,  1900). 


354  University  of  California  Publications  in  Am.  Arch,  and  Ethn.       [Vol.  16 

If  the  girl  did  not  approve,  her  father  then  talked  to  her  and  told  her 
why  she  should  marry  the  man  of  his  choice  and  that  she  ought  always 
to  obey  her  parents.  Usually,  the  girl  agreed,  for  parental  authority 
is  very  strong. 

There  was  never  any  ceremony.  The  father  of  the  groom  simply 
led  the  wife  to  her  husband's  home.  They  always  lived  with  the 
man's  parents  for  several  years.  When  his  parents  became  quite 
old,  the  young  couple  built  a  new  home  right  near  them  to  live  in, 
' '  for  it  was  about  time  for  the  old  folks  to  die. ' '  If  they  died  in  the 
house  where  the  young  people  were,  it  would  mean  that  their  home 
must  be  burned.  When  a  man  dies,  his  widow  goes  back  to  live  with 
her  own  parents. 

If  the  son  did  not  like  the  wife  his  parents  had  picked  out  for 
him,  after  he  had  lived  with  her  for  a  while,  he  could  send  her  back 
to  her  home.  There  was  no  divorce,  merely  a  separation  and  remar 
riage  when  convenient.  It  was  permissible  for  a  man  to  have  two 
wives. 

If  a  wife  misbehaved,  she  was  tied  to  a  tree  and  beaten  by  the 
chief. 

Very  often,  a  girl  was  married  at  the  age  of  ten  or  twelve  years. 
This  was  an  arrangement  between  the  parents.  However,  she  did 
not  live  with  her  husband  for  several  years.  She  was  married  simply 
to  keep  someone  else  from  getting  her. 

It  was  the  custom  for  a  widow  to  marry  her  late  husband's  older 
brother,  but  this  was  not  obligatory.  She  could  not  marry  his  younger 
brother.  When  a  wife  died,  the  husband  usually  married  her  sister, 
if  she  had  one. 

Marriage  with  even  distant  relatives  was  looked  upon  with  extreme 
disfavor. 

When  the  couple  were  first  married,  the  woman  lived  at  her 
husband's  home  a  week  or  two  before  really  living  with  him  as  his 
wife.  This  was  done  to  give  them  time  "to  get  acquainted,"  for  as 
a  rule  they  did  not  know  each  other  very  well. 

A  young  woman  was  not  wont  to  talk  to  her  husband  very  much 
in  their  home.  He  was  expected  to  converse  with  his  parents  who  lived 
with  them,  and  if  his  wife  talked  too  much,  his  parents  would  be 
neglected.  The  two  couples  do  not  sleep  in  the  same  room,  in  the 
modern  houses. 

When  a  man  and  woman  are  first  married,  the  old  people  who 
live  near  them  go  to  see  them,  one  by  one.  They  do  this  to  see  whether 


1920]  Hooper:  The  Cahuilla  Indians  355 

they  are  starting  their  married  life  in  a  selfish  or  generous  way.  If 
the  new  wife  gives  the  old  lady  some  flour  or  meal  to  take  home  with 
her,  she  is  considered  a  good  woman.  If  she  does  not,  the  old  lady 
can  not  say  enough  bad  things  about  her. 

Familiarity  between  husband  and  wife  before  people,  such  as  we 
are  accustomed  to,  is  an  unheard-of  thing.  If  a  wife  should  be  seen 
sitting  on  her  husband's  lap,  they  would  be  sure  she  was  crazy. 

There  must  be  no  joking  or  teasing  between  a  wife  and  her  brother- 
in-law  or  a  husband  and  his  sister-in-law.  There  must  be  the  greatest 
respect  shown  always  in  these  relations.  First  cousins  are  spoken 
of  as  brothers  and  sisters.  A  husband  may  tease  his  wife 's  cousin  and 
vice  versa.  A  man  must  be  very  good  to  his  wife 's  father  and  brother. 

One  old  man  told  me  that  very  long  ago  if  a  man  desired  a  certain 
woman  for  his  wife,  he  went  to  her  carrying  his  bows  and  arrows. 
If  she  refused  him,  he  killed  her.  This  was  the  only  statement  of 
the  kind  made  to  me,  and  I  can  not  vouch  for  its  authenticity. 


WAE 

The  Cahuilla,  like  most  of  the  California  Indians,  have  been  a 
very  peaceful  people.  Their  main  troubles  were  between  villages, 
and  were  caused  by  boundary  disputes.  Each  village  had  definite 
boundaries,  within  which  the  inhabitants  lived,  hunted,  and  gathered 
mesquite  and  other  food  products.  Food  was  very  scarce  in  the  old 
days  and  any  infringement  of  one  group  on  the  land  of  the  adjacent 
group  was  considered  grounds  for  enmity  and  often  subsequent  war. 

Poisoned  arrows  were  used  when  it  was  considered  necessary.  A 
small  strip  of  flesh  which  is  connected  with  the  lungs  of  animals  was 
dried  and  softened  in  water.  It  was  then  soaked  in  a  concoction  made 
of  poisonous  herbs,  ants,  and  tarantulas.  A  tiny  particle  of  this  was 
then  placed  on  the  tip  of  the  flint  arrowhead. 

I  shall  now  relate  a  few  tales  which  were  told  me  of  war  with 
foreign  groups.  Whether  they  are  authentic  or  mythical  I  could  not 
determine. 

Long  ago,  there  was  a  clan  or  village  called  Simotakiktem  about 
six  miles  south  of  Agua  Caliente.  There  was  one  man  in  the  clan 
who  caused  a  great  deal  of  trouble  for  the  surrounding  groups.  So 
these  got  together  and  decided  to  make  war  on  the  entire  group.  When 
the  Simotakiktem  saw  the  other  Cahuilla  coming,  they  hid  in  a  big 
round  rock  which  was  just  like  a  room  and  had  a  stone  door.  The 


356  University  of  California  Publications  in  Am.  Arch,  and  Ethn.       [Vol.  16 

Cahuilla  surrounded  them,  forced  the  door,  and  threw  firebrands 
inside,  and  then  closed  the  door.  They  were  all  suffocated. 

There  was  a  village  by  the  name  of  Sewekiktem.  The  people  there 
were  very  wicked.  Once,  while  they  were  in  the  big-house,  the  Cahuilla 
surrounded  them  and  killed  them  all. 

At  one  time,  when  the  Mexicans  were  living  near  Los  Angeles,  a 
great  many  Indians  from  Yuma  came  and  stole  their  horses.  The 
Mexicans  asked  the  Cahuilla  to  help  get  them  back.  They  all  started 
out  determined  to  annihilate  the  Yuma  Indians.  On  the  way  they 
got  lost  in  the  desert  and  most  of  them  died  from  lack  of  water. 
Those  who  survived  returned  to  their  homes. 


PKOPEETY  EIGHTS 

One  can  obtain  very  little  information  on  this  subject.  After  the 
death  of  anyone,  his  possessions  are  burned  up,  as  I  have  stated  before. 
Because  of  this,  there  is  little  left  to  dispose  of. 

If  an  old  woman  has  some  especially  fine  baskets  which  she  wishes 
some  particular  friend  to  have,  she  sees  that  they  are  bestowed  before 
she  dies. 

Land  now  goes  to  the  sons.  They  all  live  on  it,  so  there  is  no 
fighting  over  the  division  of  property. 


The  native  belief  is  that  all  food  was  once  human  and  could  talk 
just  as  we  can.  Mukat  designated  certain  people  in  the  beginning  who 
were  to  become  plants  and  be  converted  into  food  for  our  use. 

The  mesquite  tree  is  the  main  reliance  of  the  Desert  Cahuilla  for 
food.  It  is  their  staple.  The  mesquite  tree  grows  to  a  height  of  from 
thirty  to  forty  feet.  The  wood  is  very  hard,  and  all  of  it,  even  the 
roots,  is  used  as  fuel.  The  leaves  are  small  and  abundant  and  the 
branches  very  spiny.  On  the  desert,  in  the  Coachella  valley,  these 
trees  grow  in  clumps,  their  roots  reaching  down  to  the  subsoil  water. 

The  mesquite  beans,  which  ripen  in  the  late  summer,  and  of  which 
there  are  several  varieties,  are  gathered  in  great  quantities,  dried, 
and  packed  away  in  basket  granaries.  These  are  not  husked  but  are 


1920]  Hooper:  The  Cahuilla  Indians  357 

pounded  in  a  stone  mortar  with  a  pestle.  Many  of  the  beans  are 
worm-eaten  in  spots,  but  regardless  of  this  they  are  all  pounded 
together.  A  very  fine  meal  is  obtained  in  this  way.  It  is  then  placed 
in  an  earthen  dish  and  soaked.  Then  it  is  ready  to  be  eaten  and  is 
very  sweet  and  palatable. 

I  was  told  by  several  old  men  that  the  reason  the  Indians  are  dying 
so  fast  is  that  they  are  eating  white  man's  food,  canned  goods  and 
the  like.  They  formerly  used  to  eat  their  dogs  when  necessary,  cer 
tain  kinds  of  snakes,  turtles,  insects,  in  fact  anything  they  happened 
to  have  around.  They  assert  that  from  eating  such  food  as  this,  the 
medicine  men  were  much  more  powerful  than  they  are  now. 

Mukat  told  Sokut  (deer)  that  he  must  go  to  the  mountains  for  he 
was  to  be  food  for  the  people.  He  told  him  he  could  hide  in  the 
bushes  and  high  places  for  a  while  but  that  soon  men  would  find  him. 
Sokut  felt  very  badly  about  this  but  he  had  to  do  as  Mukat  had  told 
him  to. 

CLOTHING 

For  a  long  time,  the  Cahuilla  say,  they  did  not  wear  any  clothes 
at  all.  The  first  they  had  were  breech  clouts  of  deer  skins  and  moun 
tain  sheep  skins.  In  cold  weather  they  used  skins  thrown  over  their 
shoulders. 

Mesquite  bark  was  rubbed  and  pounded  and  pulled  until  it  became 
soft.  It  was  then  used  as  diapers  for  babies  and  skirts  for  women. 

Warm  blankets  of  rabbit  skin  strips  were  woven. 


EARTH-COVERED  HOUSES 

The  sweathouse  or  hoyachet  was  quite  extensively  used  among  the 
Cahuilla  in  days  past.  There  is  one  which  is  still  used  on  Morongo 
reservation.  This  is  the  one  which  Dr.  Kroeber  has  described,11  and 
is  an  unusually  small  one,  I  was  told.  There  appears  to  have  been 
no  standard  size. 

All  agree  that  the  use  of  the  hoyachet  was  confined  to  curative 
purposes,  through  sweating.  Old  Ramon  Garcia  said  that  people 
gathered  in  this  house  and  were  retained  in  the  intense  heat  for 
perhaps  half  an  hour  or  more,  or  until  they  were  sweating  profusely. 
They  then  ran  out  and  jumped  into  cold  water  and  then  back  to  the 
fire  again.  This  procedure  continued  all  night,  as  a  rule. 


11  Present  series,  vin,  64,  pi.  15,  1908. 


358  University  of  California  Publications  in  Am.  Arch,  and  Ethn.       [Vol.  16 

Women  too  were  allowed  the  use  of  the  sweathouse.  Children 
could  not  stand  such  treatment,  so  they  were  seldom  allowed  to  enter. 

The  Cahuilla  had  another  kind  of  earth-covered  house  called  a 
tomekish.  I  first  heard  of  it  from  old  Ramon  at  Morongo.  He  stated 
that  it  was  neither  used  for  sweating  nor  ceremonial  purposes,  but 
as  a  clubhouse  in  which  the  old  men  gathered  to  talk  over  important 
matters.  He  stated  that  its  construction  was  very  much  like  that  of 
a  sweathouse. 

When  I  questioned  Ambrosio  of  Torres  reservation  as  to  what  a 
tomekish  was  he  said  that  it  was  not  a  sweathouse  nor  was  it  what 
Ramon  had  described.  He  said  that  it  was  an  earth-covered  building 
in  which  many  people  could  gather  and  where  they  slept  during  cold 
nights.  He  admitted  that  occasionally  men  did  make  speeches  here.12 

Then  again,  Francisco  Numbri  at  Martinez  asserted  that  a  tomekish 
was  the  small  enclosure  built  back  of  the  kishumnawat  (ceremonial 
house),  and  that  in  it  were  kept  all  ceremonial  objects. 

Others  stated  that  the  tomekish  was  a  sweathouse. 

The  names — kishumnawat,  hoyachet,  and  tomekish — however,  sug 
gest  that  in  addition  to  their  dwellings  the  Cahuilla  employed  several 
different  kinds  of  houses  for  religious  and  medicinal  purposes.13 
Whether  all  of  them  were  used  in  any  one  division  of  the  Cahuilla  is 
less  clear. 

BOWS  AND  ARROWS 

There  are  no  longer  any  bows  and  arrows  to  be  found  on  the 
Cahuilla  reservations.  Collectors  have  taken  them  all.  For  this 
reason,  what  I  was  able  to  find  out  about  bows  and  arrows  was  done 
through  questioning  only. 

The  bow  was  made  either  out  of  mesquite  or  of  desert  willow. 
These  bows  were  from  three  and  a  half  to  four  and  a  half  feet  in 
length,  and  from  one  and  a  half  to  two  and  a  half  inches  in  width. 
Usually  the  string  was  made  of  sinew  or  of  mescal  fiber. 

The  arrows  were  made  of  arrow-weed  or  cane.  Short  arrows  with 
long  feather  trimmings  were  used  for  long  distance  shooting.  For 
hunting  rabbits,  the  arrow  was  about  two  and  a  half  feet  long.  The 
short  arrows  usually  had  three  feathers  and  the  longer  ones  had  two 
feathers.  The  long  ones  were  the  more  common.  Albert  Potencio 


12  This  agrees  with  the  construction  and  use  of  the  larger  living  houses  of  the 
Mohave. 

is  Barrows,  op.  cit.,  p.  77 :  hashlish,  ' '  temescal,  sweathouse ' ' ;  Kroeber,  present 
series,  vm,  237,  1909:  huyetcat  (huyechat),  "sweathouse." 


1920]  Hooper:  The  Cahuilla  Indians  359 

of  Agua  Caliente  stated  that  black  or  red  stone  points  were  used  in 
long  distance  shooting.  Contrary  statements  were  made  concerning 
sinew-backed  bows.  Lee  Orenes  of  Agua  Caliente  asserts  that  they 
were  used  there  in  shooting  big  game  and  in  war  fighting.  Ramon 
Garcia  of  Morongo  says  that  there  never  was  any  sinew-backing  among 
the  Cahuilla. 

Arrows  were  carried  in  a  skin  bag  slung  over  the  shoulder.  If 
this  was  not  used,  three  arrows  were  carried  in  the  left  hand  under 
neath  the  bow. 

Cane  arrows  were  straightened  by  being  placed  in  a  grooved,  heated 
rock  and  then  straightened  at  the  joints.  Arrow-weed  arrows  were 
heated  in  the  fire  and  then  straightened  by  the  aid  of  the  mouth. 

Poisoned  arrows  were  used  in  case  of  war.  The  method  of  poison 
ing  has  been  described  above. 

HANDIWOEK 

The  last  few  years  has  seen  the  passing  of  the  manufacture  of 
pottery  among  the  Cahuilla,  and  it  seems  a  great  pity.  They  have 
evidently  found  it  too  easy  to  buy  utensils  which  serve  the  same 
purpose,  to  pay  them  to  make  pottery.  Collectors  have  gone  through 
the  valley  and  bought  the  best  ollas  so  that  now  the  ones  that  are  left 
are  very  poor  specimens. 

Several  informants  described  the  process  of  pottery  manufacture. 
There  were  two  kinds  of  clay  used.  One  they  called  tesnit,  which  was 
the  best  quality;  the  other  was  ulish.  I  was  told  that  they  found 
this  clay  in  the  mountains.  The  clay  is  first  ground  to  a  fine  powder ; 
water  is  then  added.  It  is  then  patted  into  shape  between  a  small 
smooth  stone  curved  on  one  side  and  known  as  a  paikwal,  and  a  wooden 
paddle.  Rolls  of  clay  are  built  on  to  the  top  of  the  shaped  vessel  as 
needed.  The  paikwal  is  used  on  the  inside  of  the  bowl  and  the  wooden 
paddle  on  the  outside.  The  clay  of  the  bowl  must  be  kept  wet  all  the 
time  so  that  it  will  not  crack.  After  it  has  the  desired  size  and  shape, 
it  is  smoothed  down  with  the  paikwal  and  with  the  hands,  which  are 
first  dipped  in  water.  The  completed  pot  is  then  placed  in  the  sun  to 
dry  for  one  day,  and  next  placed  in  a  pit  and  burned  with  cow  manure. 
This  also  takes  one  day.  If  ornamentation  is  desired,  it  is  painted 
before  baking  with  red  ochre  from  the  mountains. 

Carrying  nets  were  woven  of  agave.  They  were  very  strong.  A 
hundred  or  a  hundred  and  fifty  pounds  could  be  carried  in  them  when 


360  University  of  California  Publications  in  Am.  Arch,  and  Ethn.       [Vol.  16 

they  were  slung  over  the  shoulder.  They  were  often  used  as  cradles 
for  the  babies  and  swung  between  trees  or  opposite  corners  of  the 
ramada.  These  nets  are  known  as  ikut. 

Cahuilla  basketry  has  been  described  at  length,14  so  I  will  not  go 
into  this  subject  except  to  say  that  this  art  too  is  dying  out.  It  is 
true  that  some  women  still  make  baskets  but  the  ones  now  manufac 
tured  are  distinctly  inferior. 

Glass  beads  were  used  among  the  Cahuilla  only  when  someone 
happened  to  bring  them  in  from  Yuma. 

The  first  wells  are  said  to  have  been  dug  with  sticks  in  alkaline 
places,  the  mud  being  carried  out  in  baskets.  A  well  was  dug  in 
steps,  so  that  it  was  easy  to  walk  up  and  down. 

To  obtain  salt,  surface  alkali  was  gathered,  mixed  with  water,  and 
boiled  until  it  settled.  The  clear  liquid  was  then  boiled  until  it 
evaporated.  The  sediment  that  remained  was  used  for  salt. 

GAMES 

Football  race. — Two  wooden  balls  somewhat  smaller  than  croquet 
balls  are  used  in  this  game.  There  are  two  men  011  a  side,  each  side 
having  one  ball.  From  a  starting  point,  the  balls  are  kicked  several 
miles  and  then  back  again.  The  two  men  getting  their  ball  back  first 
are  the  winners. 

New  moan  race. — On  the  night  of  the  new  moon,  the  boy  who  first 
saw  it  would  run  and  tell  the  other  boys  of  the  village.  All  of  the 
boys  would  then  race  to  a  certain  spot,  often  many  miles  away,  where 
there  was  water.  Here  they  would  jump  in  and  swim,  and  then  race 
back  home  again.  This  was  supposed  to  bring  them  good  luck  during 
the  following  month. 

Cat's  cradle. — Figures  are  made  of  a  string  stretched  over  the 
fingers.  I  was  told  that  many  old  people  used  to  know  almost  a 
hundred  figures.  The  ones  mentioned  were  snake,  dove,  flying  dove, 
carrying  net,  metate.  This  game  has  a  religious  significance,  as  men 
tioned  under  the  head  of  Future  Life. 

Peon. — The  playing  of  this  guessing  game  has  been  referred  to  in 
the  description  of  the  Mourning  Commemoration. 


i*  Barrows,  op.  cit.,  pp.  40-45,  1900;  Schumacher,  in  Putnam,  U.  S.  Geog. 
Surv.  (Wheeler),  vu,  247,  1879;  idem,  in  Peabody  Mus.  Eep.,  n,  521,  1880; 
Palmer,  Am.  Nat.,  xn,  653,  654,  1878 ;  Kroeber,  present  series,  vm,  41,  1908. 


1920]  Hooper:  The  Cahuilla  Indians  361 


DOGS 

Dogs  can  not  talk,  but  they  understand  everything  that  is  said. 
They  have  a  soul  just  as  we  have. 

When  the  people  left  Mukat's  house  and  came  to  this  valley,  there 
was  one  dog  with  them;  his  name  was  Hakliswakwish.  The  people 
on  the  Martinez  reservation  still  name  their  dogs  after  that  first  dog. 

From  the  very  beginning,  dogs  were  given  certain  names,  either 
because  of  their  looks  or  their  individual  actions.  Sometimes  people 
named  their  dogs  after  certain  spots  in  the  mountains  which  they 
considered  their  own. 

Following  is  a  list  of  dog  names  which  are  said  to  have  originated 
in  the  beginning.  These  were  given  to  me  by  Ramon  Garcia  of 
Morongo  reservation : 

1.  Tukwusauel  (Ramon's  dog),  male.    Tukwas  is  sky. 

2.  Honwet-mihanwish,  male.    "Fights  bear." 

3.  Honwet-mikish,  female.    "Fights  bear." 

4.  Nishkish.    "Ashes."    Dogs  were  appointed  from  the  beginning 
by  Mukat,  to  sleep  outside  and  act  as  watchmen.    People  used  to  throw 
their  ashes  outdoors  in  a  certain  place.    The  dog  would  sleep  on  that 
spot  because  it  was  warm.     After  doing  this,  one  dog  became  gray 
and  looked  like  ashes.    After  that  he  was  called  Nishkish,  as  all  such 
appearing  dogs  still  are. 

5.  Yoyetheki.     "Spotted  white."     Once,  in  the  bginning,  when  a 
dog  was  sleeping  outdoors,  it  snowed  and  made  the  little  dog  spotted 
with  white. 

6.  Isil.     "Coyote."     Brown  like  a  coyote. 

7.  Isila,  female.     Brown  like  a  coyote. 

8.  Iste-mihanwish,  male.    ' '  Fights  coyote. ' ' 

9.  Iste-mimikish,  female.    "Fights  coyote." 

10.  Lauelvanutkiwishve.     "Cottonwood  tree."     A  name  given  to 
a  large  black  and  white  spotted  dog. 

11.  Pauwetama.  "Sore,  small  eyes." 

12.  Pulakalet.     "White  spots  on  head  and  neck." 

13.  Tamelkisol,  female.    "Small  dog." 

14.  Yirhemhemke.     "Small  male  dog." 

15.  Yuchemime.     "Very  small  dog." 

16.  Chikutu.     "Small  dog." 


362  University  of  California  Publications  in  Am.  Arch,  and  Ethn.       [Vol.  16 

CALENDAE 

Several  informants  stated  that  there  were  only  three  seasons : 

1.  Taspa  budding  of  trees 

2.  Talpa  hot  days 

3.  Taniitva  cold  days 

August  Lomas  of  the  Martinez  reservation,  my  most  reliable 
informant,  named  eight  seasons,  each  one  based  upon  the  development 
of  the  mesquite  bean,  which  used  to  be  the  main  food.  They  were : 

1.  Taspa  budding  of  trees 

2.  Sevwa  blossoming  of  trees 

3.  Heva-wiva  commencing  to  form  beans 

4.  Menukis-kwasva  ripening  time  of  beans 

5.  Merukis-chaveva  falling  of  beans 

6.  Talpa  midsummer 

7.  Uche-wiva  cool  days 

8.  Tamiva  cold  days 

The  old  men  used  to  study  the  stars  very  carefully  and  in  this  way 
could  tell  when  each  season  began.  They  would  meet  in  the  cere 
monial  house  and  argue  about  the  time  certain  stars  would  appear, 
and  would  often  gamble  about  it.  This  was  a  very  important  matter, 
for  upon  the  appearance  of  certain  stars  depended  the  season  of  the 
crops.  After  several  nights  of  careful  watching,  when  a  certain  star 
finally  appeared,  the  old  men  would  rush  out,  cry  and  shout,  and 
often  dance.  In  the  spring,  this  gayety  was  especially  pronounced, 
for  it  meant  that  they  could  now  find  certain  plants  in  the  mountains. 
This  was  a  cause  for  great  rejoicing,  for  food  was  often  very  scarce 
in  those  days.  They  never  went  to  the  mountains  until  they  saw  a 
certain  star,  for  they  knew  they  would  not  find  food  there  previously. 

The  Cahuilla  counted  time  by  moons.  Several  times  I  was  told 
that  there  were  thirteen  moons,  but  at  no  time  was  I  able  to  get  the 
names  of  more  than  six.15  These  were : 

1.  To  menyil.  4.  Sa  menyil. 

2.  Tawe  menyil.  5.  Menyil  naa. 

3.  Seya  menyil.  6.  Menyil. 

The  Cahuilla  count  has  been  published.16 


is  This  suggests  ^  bi-soltitial  calendar  such  as  is  used  by  the  Zuni  and  Hopi.  by 
the  Diegueno,  and,  -in  somewhat  altered  form,  by  the  Luiseno  and  Juaneno.  The 
moon  names  of  one  half  year  were  repeated  in  the  second  half  of  the  year  by  the 
first  three  of  thesd  tribes,  and  probably  by  the  Cahuilla  also. 

16  Present  series,  iv,  71,  1907 ;  vin,  237,  1909. 


1920]  Hooper:  The  Cahuilla  Indians  363 


THE  STAHS 

When  Mukat  was  sick,  many  of  his  people  left  his  house  and  went 
away  without  telling  him.  There  were  three  sisters  planning  to  do 
this,  but  they  told  him  about  it.  Mukat  was  glad  they  told  him.  He 
said  to  them  that  they  would  know  when  he  was  dead  by  the  frost 
around  the  house.  These  sisters  then  went  to  the  sky  and  became 
stars.  One  morning,  looking  down  from  above,  they  saw  frost  around 
Mukat 's  house  and  knew  that  he  was  dead.  They  cried  and  could  be 
heard  far  off.  Whenever  we  have  frost  now,  these  three  stars  are  seen 
in  the  sky. 

Papinut  is  a  star  which  comes  up  over  the  horizon  just  a  little. 
This  star  twinkles  more  than  the  others  and  they  call  this  jumping.  It 
jumps  all  night.  They  say  Mukat  put  it  there  to  be  funny;  so  it  is 
spoken  of  as  the  funny  star. 

What  we  call  the  Milky  Way  is  in  reality  dust  kicked  up  by  Isil 
and  Tukut,  Coyote  and  Wildcat,  having  a  race. 

In  the  constellation  known  as  Orion,  there  are  three  stars  in  A 
row  known  as  the  Belt,  which  are  mountain  sheep.  Below  are  three 
smaller  stars  in  a  row,  pointing  toward  the  first  three :  the  sword. 
These  represent  an  arrow  which  has  been  shot  at  the  mountain  sheep 
by  a  hunter.  The  great  bright  star  below,  Rigel,  is  the  hunter  who 
has  shot  the  arrow  at  the  mountain  sheep. 

Chehaum,  three  girls,  are  the  Pleiades,  Tukwishhemish  a  star  near 
them,  and  Isilihnup  and  Holinach  each  a  pair  of  stars — one  brighter 
and  one  smaller — on  opposite  sides  of  the  Pleiades.  Isilihnup  and 
Holinach  are  also  described  as  side  by  side  in  the  sky.  Their  half- 
brother  Kunvachmal  is  a  bright  star  that  rises  only  a  little  above  the 
horizon — like  Papinut.  Tukvachtahat,  father  of  the  three  brothers, 
is  also  a  star.  These  are  all  characters  in  the  mythical  tales  that 
follow.  It  is  clear  that  transformation  into  stars  is  a  favorite  device 
in  Cahuilla  traditional  narrative. 


364  University  of  California  Publications  in  Am.  Arch,  and  Ethn.       [Vol.  16 


TALES  AND   BELIEFS 


In  the  beginning,  Takwich  was  a  man  whom  Mukat  created  and 
to  whom  he  gave  great  power.  He  was  the  first  shaman.  The  people 
disliked  him  very  much,  so  he  ran  away  to  the  San  Jacinto  mountains. 
He  still  lives  in  a  canyon  there  known  as  Takwich  or  Tahquitz  canyon. 
His  home  is  in  a  large  rock.  Though  no  one  knows  what  rock  it  is, 
Takwich,  and  the  people  he  has  stolen,  can  see  out  of  it  as  plainly  as 
we  see  through  glass.  The  Cahuilla  never  venture  into  this  canyon  for 
they  are  afraid  Takwich  will  get  them. 

A  meteor  that  is  seen  occasionally  is  believed  to  be  Takwich 
hunting  for  wandering  souls.  The  stealing  of  spirits  is  his  main 
occupation.  He  takes  them  to  his  home  on  San  Jacinto  and  there 
eats  them;  he  often  steals  people  as  well  as  their  souls. 

The  story  is  often  told  of  a  young  Indian  girl  who  bathed  near 
Takwich  canyon.  Takwish  desired  and  stole  her  and  took  her  to  his 
house  in  the  rock  and  treated  her  as  his  wife.  He  often  left  her 
and  brought  back  spirits  for  their  food. 

Here  he  kept  her  several  years.  She  became  very  tired  of  eating 
spirits,  and  he  decided  to  let  her  return  home.  First,  he  warned  her 
that  for  three  years  she  must  not  tell  anyone  where  she  had  been,  or 
she  would  surely  die.  Then  he  took  her  back  to  where  he  first  found 
her  and  from  here  she  went  home. 

Her  people,  who  had  never  expected  to  see  her  again,  rejoiced 
greatly  and  asked  her  where  she  had  been.  She  refused  to  tell,  but 
they  kept  urging  her.  In  a  year,  when  they  were  still  questioning 
her,  she  told  them  to  build  her  a  large  house  and  she  would  then  tell 
them.  After  the  house  was  built,  she  told  all  the  people  to  gather 
there,  and  she  then  told  them  everything  that  had  occurred  to  her 
while  she  was  with  Takwich.  The  next  morning,  just  before  sunrise, 
she  died  just  as  Takwich  had  said  she  would. 

Occasionally,  a  rumbling  sound  is  heard  issuing  from  Takwich 
canyon.  They  say  that  some  girl  is  begging  Takwich  to  let  her  go 
and  that  he  is  growling  at  her. 

They  used  to  attribute  all  earthquakes  to  Takwich  and  whenever 
one  occurred  they  would  hold  a  dance. 


Or  Takwish. 


1920]  Hooper:  The  Cahuilla  Indians  365 

When  people  are  killed  in  an  accident,  it  is  often  because  their 
spirits  have  been  stolen  by  Takwich. 

Once  when  they  were  boys,  Francisco  and  Jim  Torres  were  playing 
near  the  canyon.  Suddenly  they  saw  Takwich  coming  out.  He  had 
a  rod  stuck  through  his  head.  He  leaped  over  the  hills  and  dis 
appeared.  Some  women  who  were  washing  saw  him  at  the  same 
time. 

Ambrosio,  the  medicine  man,  whose  guardian  spirit  is  Takwich, 
says  he  sees  Takwich  often,  and  that  he  looks  like  other  men. 

CHEHAUM  AND  TUKWISHHEMISHis 

There  once  were  three  little  girls,  Moki,  Kipi,  and  Tewe.  They 
were  small  and  not  at  all  pretty,  but  were  constantly  laughing. 

Tukwishhemish  was  a  large  woman  and  very  pretty.  When  she 
laughed,  she  never  opened  her  mouth.  This  made  the  little  girls  very 
curious.  One  day  they  made  her  laugh  very  hard,  and  she  opened 
her  mouth.  They  then  saw  that  instead  of  having  one  row  of  upper 
teeth  she  had  two.  The  little  girls  thought  this  very  funny  and  they 
laughed  at  her. 

Tukwishhemish  was  ashamed,  so  she  ascended  to  the  sky  and  became 
a  star.  Soon  the  little  girls  became  so  lonely  that  they  too  went  to 
the  sky. 

Tukwishhemish  can  be  seen  to  this  day.  She  has  her  arms  out 
stretched  and  wears  a  beautiful  pin  at  her  neck  which  shines  very 
brightly  in  the  sky.  The  three  little  girls  are  known  as  the  Chehaum. 
They  keep  trying  to  look  at  Tukwishhemish  but  she  keeps  turning 
away  from  them. 

Up  to  the  time  these  four  women  went  to  the  sky,  there  had  never 
been  a  marriage,  but  the  people  were  beginning  to  desire  something 
of  the  kind. 

Two  men,  Isilihnup  and  Holinach  by  name,  heard  of  these  girls 
and  decided  to  go  to  them  and  make  them  their  wives. 

When  they  arrived  at  the  home  of  the  girls  and  found  that  they 
had  left,  they  felt  very  badly.  They  looked  all  over  the  world  for 
them  but  of  course  could  not  find  them. 

One  night  they  slept  in  the  big  house.  When  Isilihnup  woke  up 
in  the  night,  he  could  see  through  the  smoke-hole.  There  he  saw  th<3 


18  Told  by  Ramon  Garcia  of  Morongo,  a  Pass  Cahuilla. 


366  University  of  California  Publications  in  Am.  Arch,  and  Ethn.       [Vol.  16 

Chehaum  and  knew  that  they  were  the  little  girls.  He  wondered 
how  he  could  get  near  them. 

At  last  he  spied  a  greasewood  stick.  He  put  it  in  the  fire  until 
it  began  to  burn,  then  threw  it  through  the  smoke-hole,  and  it  went 
to  the  sky.  He  followed  it.  As  the  stick  went  through  the  hole,  some 
ashes  fell  off.  Since  then,  whenever  ashes  fall,  it  is  a  sign  that  it  is 
going  to  snow.  Isilihnup  became  a  star  and  still  may  be  seen  at  one 
side  of  the  Chehaum. 

When  Holinach  woke  up,  he  missed  his  partner  and  wondered 
where  he  could  have  gone.  That  night  he  slept  in  his  brother's  place. 
When  he  woke  in  the  middle  of  the  night,  he  too  saw  the  Chehaum. 
He  then  knew  where  his  brother  had  gone. 

He  took  a  naswit  branch,  lighted  it,  and  threw  it  through  the  smoke- 
hole  as  his  brother  had  done.  Ashes  fell  just  as  they  had  done  before. 
Holinach  followed  and  went  to  the  other  side  of  the  Chehaum.  There 
Isilihnup  and  Holinach  can  still  be  seen  guarding  the  Chehaum. 

The  old  people  can  tell  what  the  weather  is  to  be  like  by  watching 
these  stars.  If  they  throw  a  dim  light,  the  weather  will  not  be  good, 
but  if  the  light  is  bright  and  clear,  the  weather  will  be  fine. 

Both  Isilihnup  and  Holinach  are  represented  by  two  stars,  one  for 
the  body  and  the  other  for  the  burning  stick  they  threw  ahead  of  them. 
When  the  star  representing  the  burning  stick  appears,  that  signifies 
the  beginning  of  the  first  month.  When  Holinach  and  Isilihnup  them 
selves  appear,  that  means  the  beginning  of  the  second  month.  This 
continues  for  the  four  winter  months.19 


KUNVACHMAL  AND  TUKVACHTAHAT2Q 
A 

There  was  once  a  man  by  the  name  of  Tukvachtahat.  He  was 
very  powerful  and  could  do  many  magical  things.  He  had  a  wife, 
and  a  son  whose  name  was  Kunvachmal.  Tukvachtahat  and  his  wife 
quarreled  all  the  time  until  they  separated. 

Soon  Tukvachtahat  married  again  and  had  two  sons  by  this 
marriage.  He  was  very  rich  and  he  and  his  family  had  everything 
they  wanted. 


is  With  the  Luiseno,  Chehaiyam  are  the  Pleiades,  and  Aldebaran  is  Coyote,  who 
followed  them  (present  series,  vni,  163,  164,  1908).  The  first  part  of  the  name 
Isilihnup  seems  to  mean  ' '  coyote. ' ' 

20  Told  by  August  Lomas. 


1920]  Hooper:  The  Cahuilla  India-ns  367 

Kunvachmal  and  his  mother  were  very  poor  and  lived  near 
Tukvachtahat.  One  day  he  visited  his  half-brothers.  Tukvachtahat 
saw  him  there  and  told  his  boys  not  to  have  anything  to  do  with  him, 
for  he  hated  him. 

However,  Kunvachmal  had  been  there  long  enough  to  see  what 
fine  things  his  half-brothers  had  to  play  with,  and  was  jealous  of  them. 
He  went  home  and  told  his  mother  he  wanted  things  such  as  his 
brothers  had.  She  told  him  that  they  were  poor  and  could  not  have 
such  fine  things.  The  boy  began  to  cry.  His  mother  went  outside 
and  made  a  bow  and  arrow  out  of  mesquite  bark.  When  she  handed 
it  to  Kunvachmal,  he  complained  because  it  did  not  have  eagle  feathers 
as  his  brothers'  arrows  had.  She  told  him  to  go  outside  and  pick  up 
any  kind  of  feathers  he  saw.  He  gathered  quail  feathers  and  she  put 
them  on  his  arrows  and  he  was  satisfied. 

Next  day,  Kunvachmal  took  his  bow  and  arrows  and  went  to  see 
his  brothers  again.  They  looked  at  his  arrows  and  then  broke  them. 
Kunvachmal  cried  and  went  home  and  told  his  mother  about  it. 
She  told  him  not  to  go  back  there  an}'  more,  but  he  returned,  and 
each  day  they  broke  his  arrows. 

Finally,  the  brothers  tired  of  this  and  decided  to  play  a  game  with 
him  by  which  they  thought  they  could  win  the  arrows  and  keep  them 
for  themselves,  instead  of  breaking  them,  for  they  were  beautifully 
made  arrows. 

At  first  they  won,  and  each  day  Kunvachmal  went  home  without 
any  arrows.  Soon  he  began  to  win,  however,  and  took  home  the  fine 
arrows  belonging  to  his  brothers.  This  made  them  angry  and  they 
told  their  father  how  things  were  going. 

Tukvachtahat  did  not  like  this  at  all  and  told  his  boys  they  must 
get  even  with  Kunvachmal.  He  told  them  to  have  a  race  to  the  water 
next  day  and  go  swimming.  He  said  the  water  looked  like  just  a  small 
pool  but  that  in  reality  it  was  the  ocean.  He  told  them  to  let  Kun 
vachmal  win  and  dive  in. 

The  next  day  they  suggested  to  Kunvachmal  that  they  have  a  race 
to  the  water  and  that  the  first  one  there  should  dive  in.  They  took  off 
their  clothes  and  started  out.  As  agreed  between  the  boys,  Kunvach 
mal  won  and  dived  in.  He  sank  clear  to  the  bottom  and  since  it  was 
the  ocean,  it  was  very  deep. 

Now  Kunvachmal's  father  was  a  powerful  wizard,  so  Kunvachmal 
had  a  great  deal  of  power,  too,  but  he  had  not  known  it  until  then. 
He  sat  down  on  the  bottom  of  the  ocean  and  wondered  what  he  could 


368  University  of  California,  Publications  in  Am.  Arch,  and  Ethn.       [Vol.  16 

do  to  get  out.  He  sang  one  of  his  songs,  turned  himself  into  a  frog, 
and  swam  to  the  top  of  the  water.  When  he  got  there,  he  saw  that 
there  were  very  high  banks  around  him  which  a  frog  could  not  climb. 
He  turned  himself  into  many  things,  trying  to  reach  the  top  of  the 
bank,  but  was  not  successful  until  he  turned  into  a  water-ant. 

He  had  been  gone  from  home  some  time  and  his  mother  was  very 
much  worried.  She  cried  all  night,  every  night.  In  the  middle  of 
each  night  she  heard  a  sound,  and,  thinking  it  was  Kunvachmal 
returning  would  jump  up  to  greet  him,  but  it  only  proved  to  be  his 
spirit.  One  morning  she  went  to  the  home  of  the  other  boys  and  asked 
them  where  her  son  was.  They  pretended  ignorance. 

When  Kunvachmal  finally  returned,  his  mother  was  very  happy. 
When  her  crying  ceased,  Tukvachtahat  knew  Kunvachmal  must  have 
returned,  and  he  was  very  angry  that  the  boy  had  outwitted  him.  He 
then  thought  of  another  way  he  might  get  rid  of  Kunvachmal  and 
told  his  boys  about  it. 

Accordingly,  they  asked  Kunvachmal  to  go  hunting  with  them. 
They  all  went  out  into  the  thick  brush,  started  a  fire  on  one  side,  and 
then  tried  to  drive  the  rabbits  into  it.  While  Kunvachmal  was  killing 
the  rabbits  which  had  been  trapped  the  boys  caused  the  fire  to  sur 
round  him.  When  Kunvachmal  saw  his  danger,  he  sang  his  song  and 
then  gradually  moved  down  into  the  ground.  Fire  kept  drawing  closer 
around  him  but  he  got  clear  under  the  earth  before  it  reached  him. 

Before  coming  up  out  of  the  ground,  he  had  to  wait  for  it  to 
cool  off.  At  daybreak  he  came  out  and  went  home  taking  much  game 
with  him. 

His  mother  had  cried  all  night.  When  he  returned  she  stopped 
crying.  Then  Tukvachtahat  knew  that  Kunvachmal  had  gotten  the 
best  of  him  again. 

Once,  when  Kunvachmal  had  been  visiting  his  brothers,  he  noticed 
that  they  had  mush  to  eat  with  their  meat.  He  told  his  mother  he 
wanted  some  to  eat  with  his  meat,  so  she  should  heat  the  water.  She 
did  as  he  told  her,  but  was  sure  that  they  were  too  poor  to  make  any 
mush.  But  the  boy  had  brought  some  home  under  his  finger  nails 
from  his  father.  He  now  put  this  in  the  hot  water.  It  multiplied 
until  the  pot  was  full. 

One  day,  Kunvachmal  saw  Tukvachtahat  plant  wheat.  Kun 
vachmal  wanted  to  plant  some  wheat  too,  so  he  stole  a  few  grains  oat 
of  his  father 's  sack  and  sowed  it  in  the  mountains. 


1920]  Hooper:  The  Cahuilla  Indians  369 

His  brothers  saw  him  do  this  and  told  their  father  about  it. 
Tukvachtahat  was  so  angry  he  made  it  rain  hard  and  wash  all  of 
Kunvachmal's  wheat  away.  Kunvachmal,  desiring  revenge,  sang  his 
song  and  made  it  rain  still  harder  and  made  the  wind  blow  so  as  to 
carry  his  father's  wheat  away  also.  He  told  the  birds  and  insects 
to  gather  the  wheat  which  had  been  washed  out  of  his  father 's  ground 
and  bring  it  to  him  so  he  could  store  it  away. 

Because  of  this,  Kunvachmal  became  very  rich  and  Tukvachtahat 
poor.  The  time  came  when  Tukvachtahat  came  to  Kunvachmal  and 
begged  for  food,  that  he  and  his  sons  might  eat,  for  they  were  starving. 
Kunvachmal  said,  "Surely,  go  help  yourself." 

Later  on,  a  big  feast  was  being  held  some  distance  away.  Tuk- 
vachtachat  and  his  sons  were  invited  to  attend  and  to  sing. 

Kunvachmal  was  very  anxious  to  go  but  his  mother  would  not  let 
him.  She  said  he  did  not  have  fine  enough  clothes  and  did  not  know 
how  to  sing. 

Tukvachtahat  and  his  two  boys  went  and  were  welcomed.  Con 
trary  to  his  mother's  wishes,  Kunvachmal  went  but  nobody  would  pay 
any  attention  to  him ;  he  was  too  poorly  dressed.  He  felt  very  badly 
and  decided  to  go  into  a  hole  and  get  clothes  made  of  the  colors  which 
are  on  a  worm.  He  then  decided  to  have  the  mosquitoes  sing  for  him. 

When  he  was  all  ready,  he  returned  to  the  feast.  Everyone  stopped 
admiring  his  father  and  half-brothers  to  gaze  at  him.  His  clothes  far 
surpassed  those  of  any  of  the  other  guests  and  his  singing  was 
beautiful. 

The  people  asked  who  he  was  and  Tukvachtahat  said,  "He  is  a 
poor  son  of  mine,  why  look  at  him  ?  Why  not  look  at  some  fine  boys 
like  these  others  of  mine?"  and  he  pointed  to  his  other  sons.  But 
the  people  paid  no  attention  to  him  and  kept  admiring  Kunvachmal. 

B 

Soon  Tukvachtahat  became  ashamed  and  very  much  chagrined, 
so  he  went  away.  He  started  out  alone  and  had  many  strange  experi 
ences  on  his  journey. 

At  the  first  village  he  came  to,  he  saw  a  great  many  houses  but 
they  were  all  deserted  and  he  wondered  why  this  was.  At  the  last 
house  in  the  village,  he  found  two  old  women.  These  old  women  were 
very  much  frightened  when  they  saw  Tukvachtahat.  He  asked  them 
why,  and  they  said,  "There  is  a  wild  man  around  here  who  has  been 


370  University  of  California  Publications  in  Am.  Arch,  and  Ethn.       [Vol.  16 

capturing  two  of  the  village  people  every  day,  taking  them  away 
with  him,  and  then  eating  them.  We  were  afraid  at  first  that  you 
were  that  man." 

He  reassured  them  and  asked  them  all  the  particulars  about  this 
man.  He  said  he  would  stay  all  night  and  see  what  he  could  do  to 
help  them.  The  women  were  very  glad,  for  they  were  the  last  ones 
in  the  village,  so  it  was  their  turn  to  be  stolen  that  night. 

Tukvachtahat  hid  where  he  could  watch  what  was  going  on. 
About  midnight,  there  was  a  noise  in  the  sky,  a  roaring  and  shaking 
of  the  entire  earth.  There  then  descended  from  the  sky  an  awful- 
looking  giant.  He  had  a  long  cane  with  a  hook  on  one  end.  He  rested 
a  minute,  breathing  hard,  then  reached  out  and  hooked  the  two 
women  with  his  cane  and  laid  them  before  him.  As  he  was  getting 
ready  to  ascend  to  the  sky  and  take  them  with  him,  Tukvachtahat 
reached  out  with  his  own  cane  and  put  the  women  back  where  they 
had  been  at  first.  This  same  thing  happened  three  times.  The  wild 
man  was  very  much  puzzled,  for  he  could  not  see  Tukvachtahat. 
After  the  third  time,  he  became  angry  and  afraid  and  attempted  to 
return  to  the  sky,  but  Tukvachtahat  killed  him. 

The  two  women  were  very  grateful  and  wanted  to  go  along  with 
Tukvachtahat  in  his  journeys  but  he  would  not  let  them ;  he  said  he 
was  going  far  arid  the  road  would  be  dangerous. 

He  went  on  farther  and  came  to  a  big  rock.  This  he  used  for  a 
bed.  It  is  said  that  the  hole  is  still  there  where  he  lay  down. 

He  met  a  very  tiny  man  and  began  to  talk  to  him.  The  little 
man  was  bald  and  his  head  was  soft  like  a  baby's.  Tukvachtahat 
pressed  it  hard  and  tried  to  run  his  finger  through  it  but  could  not. 
The  little  man  was  exceedingly  small  and  he  had  a  very  small  bow 
and  arrow.  Tukvachtahat  tried  to  break  each  part  of  the  little 
man's  body,  also  his  bow  and  arrow,  but  could  not.  The  dwarf's  name 
was  Keatkwasimika.  He  will  live  forever  and  no  one  can  harm  him. 
Every  once  in  a  while  someone  sees  him.  Pancho  Lomas  saw  him 
once  a  long  time  ago. 

When  Tukvachtahat  left  Keatkwasimika,  he  resumed  his  journey 
and  soon  came  to  a  little  house  where  there  were  two  beautiful  girls 
preparing  cactus  fruit.  They  warned  Tukvachtahat  not  to  come 
near,  for  fear  he  would  get  thorns  in  his  eyes.  He  insisted  that  thorns 
would  not  hurt  him,  but  the  girls  said  they  knew  they  would.  He  lay 
down  to  rest.  The  girls  were  just  about  to  put  thorns  in  his  eyes 
when  he  blew  very  hard  and  the  girls  turned  into  rats,  which  they 
had  formerly  been. 


1920]  Hooper:  The  Cahuilla  Indians  371 

Tukvachtahat  had  passed  from  Phoenix  to  San  Jacinto,  through 
Ferris  valley  and  had  now  come  to  the  ocean.  Here  he  jumped  in  and 
later  ascended  to  the  sky  and  became  a  star.  This  ended  the  career  of 
Tukvachtahat. 

C 

The  two  sons  of  Tukvachtahat,  Isilihnup  and  Holinach,21  had 
returned  home  after  their  father  left  them.  It  did  not  seem  like  home 
to  them  any  more.  On  the  way  from  the  fiesta  they  had  gathered  two 
sticks,  one  of  greasewood  and  the  other  a  paloverde22  stick,  each  about 
two  feet  long.  These  they  were  to  use  as  guides,  in  case  they  cared 
to  take  a  journey. 

The  older  one,  Holinach,  decided  to  run  away  since  he  was  not 
happy  at  home ;  but  he  did  not  know  just  how  to  start.  One  night  he 
awoke  and  saw  just  above  him  a  hole  in  the  roof  of  the  house.  He 
took  his  stick,  put  it  in  the  fire  a  minute,  and  threw  it  up  into  the 
hole.  It  sailed  up  to  the  sky  and  made  a  path  of  light  for  him  to 
follow.  He  then  became  a  star. 

When  Isilihnup  awoke  and  could  not  find  his  brother,  he  was  very 
sad  and  looked  for  him  and  sang  about  him  for  three  days.  On  the 
third  night  he  slept  in  his  brother's  bed.  Waking  up  in  the  night, 
he  saw  the  same  hole  in  the  roof.  He  then  knew  what  his  brother  had 
done,  so  he  took  his  stick,  threw  it  up  through  the  hole,  and  followed 
it  to  the  sky.  He  also  became  a  star. 

These  two  stars,  Holinach  and  Isilihnup,  are  now  side  by  side  in 
the  sky. 

D 

Kunvachmal  returned  home  from  the  fiesta  very  happy.  Very  soon 
he  too  went  to  the  sky  and  became  a  bright  star.  This  star  comes  up 
at  night  just  over  the  horizon  for  a  little  while  and  then  goes  right 
back  again. 

TAKWELTEKESNIKISH23 

A  mother,  her  son,  and  daughter  were  the  last  ones  left  of  their 
people.  The  rest  had  all  been  killed  by  their  enemies.  They  lived 
near  Indian  Wells. 


21  For  another  version  of  Isilihnup  and  Holinach,  see  the  preceding  tale. 

22  ParTcinsonia  Torreyana   (Barrows,  op.  cit.,  p.  GO). 

23  Told  by  Ramon  Garcia  of  Morongo  with  the  remark  that  he  should  not  have 
narrated  it  as  it  was  Pancho  Lomas '  story.     Pancho  lives  at  Martinez.     It  argues 
a  rather  close  connection  between  the  Pass  and  Desert  Cahuilla  if  they  know  each 
other's  tales. 


372  University  of  California  Publications  in  Am.  Arch,  and  Ethn.       [Vol.  16 

The  boy's  name  was  Takweltekesnikish.  He  took  care  of  his 
mother  and  sister  in  the  best  way  he  could.  His  mother  made  his 
arrows  for  him.  When  he  was  still  quite  young,  he  went  hunting  and 
killed  small  rats.  As  he  grew  older,  he  killed  squirrels  and  rabbits 
and  took  them  home  to  his  mother.  He  grew  very  fast. 

One  day,  while  he  was  out  hunting,  he  saw  smoke  in  the  north. 
When  he  came  home  that  night,  he  told  his  mother  what  he  had  seen 
and  asked  her  what  it  was.  She  would  not  answer  him.  The  next  day 
he  saw  the  same  thing  and  again  asked  his  mother  and  again  she 
refused  to  answer  him.  On  the  third  day,  when  he  saw  the  same 
thing  again,  he  was  very  insistent.  His  mother  then  said  to  him, 
"Those  are  the  enemies  who  killed  all  our  people." 

He  became  a  man  and  could  make  his  own  arrows.  One  day  he 
became  curious  and  walked  a  long  distance  from  home  until  he  found 
himself  quite  close  to  this  smoke.  He  then  looked  carefully  to  see 
what  kind  of  arrows  his  enemies  had  and  noted  that  they  had  several 
different  kinds. 

When  he  returned  home,  he  asked  his  mother  why  they  had  several 
kinds  of  arrows  and  he  only  one  kind.  She  told  him  that  was  because 
they  had  many  men  there,  each  of  whom  could  make  a  different  kind, 
while  she,  being  only  one  person,  could  make  only  one  kind. 

Takweltekesnikish  began  to  think  very  seriously.  He  wanted  to 
kill  those  people,  but  he  was  alone.  Finally  he  made  an  arrow  and 
threw  it  to  the  sky.  After  a  time  it  fell  down  and  was  a  large  eagle 
instead  of  an  arrow.  Now  the  youth  could  put  eagle  feathers  on  his 
arrows. 

Next  morning,  he  went  to  the  mountains  to  hunt  but  did  not  find 
anything.  Next  day  when  he  went  he  noticed  two  things  which  he 
had  not  seen  before,  a  track  and  a  seed.  He  went  home  and  told  his 
mother  that  there  were  seeds  up  there  and  he  wished  she  would  go 
gather  them.  This  she  did. 

The  day  after  that  the  youth  went  to  see  if  he  could  find  the  track 
again,  but  he  could  not.  After  that,  he  hunted  again  without  success. 
In  doing  so,  he  came  close  to  Sewia  and  saw  a  fire  in  two  places. 

Takweltekesnikish  had  a  brown  dog  with  him.  While  he  was 
looking  down  the  side  of  the  mountain  toward  the  fire  in  the  valley, 
he  kept  walking  nearer  and  nearer  to  it.  Soon  he  came  to  a  long  net 
in  which  the  people  caught  rabbits.24  Takweltekesnikish  had  never 


24  Two  or  three  hundred  feet  long  and  placed   in  the  brush.     Rabbits  were 
scared  into  this  from  all  directions  and  then  wound  themselves  up  in  the  net. 


1920]  Hooper:  The  Cahuilla  Indians  373 

seen  anything  like  this  before.  Next,  he  saw  many  tracks,  two  horses, 
and  some  people.  He  did  not  know  who  these  people  were,  but  decided 
to  find  out.  He  sent  his  dog  first. 

The  dog  went  to  the  first  house.  The  man  who  lived  there  was  a 
chief.  He  was  also  a  Molnekek(  ?),  so  the  dog  would  not  go  in.  The 
chief  called  to  him  and  said,  ' '  This  is  a  good  house,  come  in  and  I  will 
give  you  tobacco  and  food."  He  repeated  this  three  times.  The  dog 
paid  no  attention  but  went  to  the  next  house.  This  was  the  home  of 
Tahtemeyawich.  He  walked  right  in  and  lay  down.  The  man  there 
told  his  people  to  prepare  a  meal  for  the  dog.  They  cooked  something 
which  the  dog  had  never  smelled  before,  so  he  would  not  eat  it;  he 
just  lay  quiet  without  moving.  They  then  cooked  something  else,  with 
the  same  result.  The  man  began  to  get  worried,  for  he  was  anxious 
to  please  strangers.  Finally  they  prepared  a  meal  for  the  dog  which 
smelled  like  what  he  was  used  to.  He  ate  this  greedily  and  was  then 
willing  to  move  around  and  look  at  things. 

Takweltekesnikish  soon  followed  his  dog.  At  the  first  house,  the 
same  man  came  out  and  tried  to  entice  him  in,  just  as  he  had  done 
with  the  dog.  But  Takweltekesnikish  would  only  do  as  his  dog  had 
done.  With  his  bow  and  arrow,  he  kept  pointing  to  the  dog's  track 
and  following  it,  and  he  saw  that  his  dog  had  not  gone  into  the  first 
house.  When  he  came  to  the  second  house,  he  went  in  and  sat  by 
his  dog.  The  man  there  prepared  mush  for  him. 

The  people  who  lived  there  took  the  boy's  bow  and  arrow;  they 
also  took  his  cap  of  owl  feathers.  In  return,  they  gave  him  their  own 
bow  and  arrows  and  a  cap  of  crow  feathers. 

The  next  day,  he  returned  to  his  home.  He  told  his  sister  about  his 
visit,  how  well  he  had  been  treated,  and  what  nice  people  they  were. 
He  told  her  he  wished  she  would  go  to  see  them  too,  that  she  could 
find  the  way  by  just  following  his  tracks  and  for  her  to  be  sure  and 
go  to  the  second  house,  not  the  first  one. 

The  next  morning,  about  sunrise,  she  did  as  her  brother  had  told 
her  to  do.  When  she  arrived  at  the  village,  the  man  in  the  first  house 
tried  to  get  her  to  enter,  but  she  went  by  and  entered  the  second 
house.  She  sat  down  without  asking  any  questions.  The  man  was 
very  glad  to  see  her  for  he  had  no  woman.  He  asked  her  to  stay  and 
be  his  wife;  he  told  her  he  would  treat  her  well  and  give  her  plenty 
of  everything.  She  decided  to  do  as  he  wished.25 


25  This  is  said  to  have  been  the  first  marriage. 


374  University  of  California  Publications  in  Am.  Arch,  and  Ethn.       [Vol.  16 

She  very  seldom  went  outside.  After  a  while,  it  was  time  for  a 
child  to  be  born  to  her. 

Early  one  morning,  they  heard  a  strange  noise  outside.  It  \vas 
her  father  star  who  blew  a  horn  to  scare  the  people.  It  had  the  desired 
effect.  The  chiefs  got  their  bows  and  arrows  and  tried  to  find  where 
the  noise  came  from,  for  they  were  afraid.  The  woman  and  her 
husband  were  lying  down.  Tahtemeyawich  wanted  to  rise  and  get 
his  bows  and  arrows  as  the  others  were  doing  but  she  told  him  it  was 
only  her  father  and  there  was  no  need  for  him  to  go.  The  other 
chiefs  heard  her ;  they  then  knew  it  was  'her  father  who  had  frightened 
them.  They  also  knew  she  was  to  have  a  child,  so  a  wizard  bewitched 
her  and  she  died. 

After  this  occurred,  Takweltekesnikish,  his  mother,  and  his  dog 
started  for  Torres.  Takweltekesnikish  was  still  a  young  man,  but  he 
bewitched  himself  to  look  old.  He  then  had  only  a  little  hair,  was 
very  much  stooped,  and  had  to  walk  with  a  cane. 

On  their  way,  they  came  to  a  house  where  a  man  lived  whose  name 
was  Yuyuelkik.  They  decided  to  rest  there.  Yuyuelkik  asked  them 
to  come  inside.  Takweltekesnikish  said,  "No,  I  shall  have  to  stay 
outside  because  my  mother  is  with  me." 

Each  day  Takweltekesnikish  went  to  the  mountains,  made  himself 
young,  and  hunted  rabbits.  He  always  caught  a  great  many.  He  was 
always  able  to  find  plenty  of  mescal  plants,  too.  When  he  returned 
home,  he  resumed  the  appearance  of  an  old  man  once  more.  Yuyuel 
kik  kept  asking  him  to  live  in  his  house  with  him  but  he  would  not 
do  so. 

Now  Yuyuelkik  had  two  daughters.  One  day  they  thought  they 
saw  the  old  man  cooking  meat.  They  themselves  had  not  been  able 
to  get  any.  They  knew  that  he  went  to  the  mountains  and  brought 
mescal  home.  One  day,  when  he  went  to  the  mountains,  they  followed 
him  and  saw  him  become  a  young  man.  They  returned  home  and 
soon  saw  the  old  man  returning. 

Finally  Yuyuelkik  persuaded  Takweltekesnikish  to  live  inside  with 
him.  The  young  girls,  knowing  he  was  young,  went  over  and  lay 
beside  him  the  first  night.  Their  father,  seeing  this,  told  them  to  keep 
away  from  the  old  man's  bed  because  he  was  tired  and  old.  But  the 
mother  told  Takweltekesnikish  to  lie  right  down  between  the  girls; 
this  he  did. 

There  was  an  older  sister  who  was  married  already.  Her  husband 
told  Takweltekesnikish  to  take  a  bath  in  cold  water  early  in  the 


1920]  Hooper:  The  CaJiuilla  Indians  375 

morning.  This  he  did  and  returned  younger.  Each  morning  after 
that  he  became  a  little  younger  in  appearance. 

The  brother-in-law  went  hunting  every  day  but  could  not  get 
anything.  One  day  Takweltekesnikish  went  with  him.  They  came 
to  a  hole  and  Takweltekesnikish  said,  "I  believe  there  are  rabbits  in 
this  hole."  The  brother-in-law  did  not  think  so,  but  Takweltekes 
nikish  began  to  dig.  Then  he  reached  in  and  pulled  out  twelve  rabbits. 
Takweltekesnikish  was  a  wizard  or  he  could  not  have  done  such 
things.  The  brother-in-law  was  a  wizard  too,  but  not  such  a  powerful 
one. 

One  night  he  made  a  fire  to  dance  around  and  asked  Takweltekes 
nikish  to  dance.  He  did  not  answer.  They  asked  him  three  times. 
The  third  time  they  asked  him  he  got  up  and  danced  and  sang.  Soon 
he  called  on  his  helpers,  Bear  and  Takwich,  to  come  into  the  house. 
Yuyuelkik  was  afraid  then  and  told  Takweltekesnikish  to  stop,  that 
he  was  too  powerful. 

Next  day  they  all  went  to  the  mountains  to  get  mountain  sheep. 
Each  was  assigned  a  special  place  to  watch  for  them.  Yuyuelkik 's 
family  went  on  one  side  of  the  mountain  and  Takweltekesnikish  went 
on  the  other  side. 

Mountain  sheep  always  go  together  and  walk  in  rows.  Takwel 
tekesnikish  killed  the  last  one.  Yuyuelkik  came  and  asked  if  any 
had  yet  been  killed.  Takweltekesnikish  said,  "Are  you  really  talk 
ing,  my  father,  my  mother  ? ' '  The  brother-in-law  became  very  angry 
then. 

They  then  saw  many  geese  coming  from  the  east.  They  said  to 
Takweltekesnikish,  "If  you  are  so  powerful,  you  can  kill  those  so 
that  we  can  eat  them."  Takweltekesnikish  then  bewitched  them  and 
they  all  fell  dead.  Yuyuelkik  and  his  family  greedily  gathered  them 
to  eat.  About  half  of  the  people  who  ate  them  died. 

Those  who  were  left  determined  to  kill  Takweltekesnikish.  He 
knew  it  because  he  knew  everything.  He  told  his  mother  that  they 
must  leave. 

That  night,  he  and  his  mother  and  his  two  wives  and  his  dog 
started  out  around  the  hills.  They  gathered  yucca  stalks  to  make  a 
shelter  for  the  night.  Here  they  sat  that  night  and  talked.  As  they 
talked,  they  spat  into  the  fire.  The  saliva  kept  talking  back  at  them 
and  made  so  much  noise  they  had  to  move  on. 

Yuyuelkik  pursued  them.  As  he  and  his  people  drew  near  the 
place  where  the  yucca  shelter  had  been  built,  they  heard  voices  and 


376  University  of  California  Publications  in  Am.  Arch,  and  Ethn.       [Vol.  16 

thought  they  had  found  the  ones  they  were  looking  for.  However, 
it  was  only  the  saliva  talking.  They  thought  Takweltekesnikish  was 
still  awake  so  they  decided  to  wait  until  later  to  attack  them. 
Toward  morning,  they  began  to  shoot  arrows  in  that  direction.  They 
soon  discovered  there  was  no  one  there,  so  gave  up  the  chase  and 
returned  home. 

Takweltekesnikish  and  his  people  went  as  far  as  the  place  we 
now  know  as  Warner's  Kanch.  There  was  no  water  there  then. 
Takweltekesnikish  named  it  Kupa. 

Takweltekesnikish  took  a  basket  and  threw  it  around  in  a  circle. 
It  came  back  to  him  and  fell  right  in  front  of  him  down  into  the 
rocks.  Then  he  and  his  mother  and  his  two  wives  and  his  dog  jumped 
into  the  hole  made  by  the  basket.  Soon  after  that,  water  began  to 
issue  from  there  and  has  been  coming  ever  since.  It  is  very  hot  water. 


OKIGIN  OF  THE  BIEDS26 

When  Mukat  died,  the  people  who  were  still  living  at  the  big  house 
did  not  know  where  to  go  or  what  to  do.  They  went  east,  west,  north, 
south,  above,  and  below.  They  could  not  decide  which  direction  they 
were  intended  to  take.  They  finally  reached  the  edge  of  the  water 
and  here  they  saw  Sovalivil  (pelican).  He  told  them  how  to  find 
Tamaioit.  When  they  found  him,  he  asked  why  they  came  to  him. 
"I  am  different  from  all  of  you,"  he  said,  "so  I  cannot  help  you,  I 
fear.  There  is  one  thing  I  might  suggest,  however.  I  created  the 
willow  tree,  which  I  forgot  to  bring  with  me ;  get  the  branches  of  that 
and  brush  yourselves  with  it  and  perhaps  you  will  then  know  what 
to  do."  So  they  all  returned  and  brushed  themselves  with  the 
willow,  then  started  out  once  more. 

A  few,  who  became  tired,  stopped,  and  turned  themselves  into 
rocks  and  trees.  The  others  reached  the  top  of  Mount  San  Jacinto 
and  here  they  slept  that  night.  At  dawn,  Isel  (a  bird  with  a  yellow 
breast  that  is  often  seen  around  swamps),  awoke  them  and  made  them 
look  around.  A  bird  which  is  larger  than  a  buzzard  (condor?)  told 
them  not  to  look,  that  there  was  nothing  to  see.  Nevertheless,  they 
all  looked  around  and  saw  many  beautiful  green  fields.  They  decided 
to  go  to  these.  On  the  way,  one  by  one,  they  stopped.  These  that 
stopped  became  birds.  When  the  others  returned  that  way,  they 
named  the  birds. 


26  Told  by  Alexandro  of  Morongo. 


1920]  Hooper:  The  Cahuilla  Indians  377 

(The  informant  would  not  go  on  with  the  story;  he  said  it  would 
take  all  night  to  name  the  birds,  and  that  was  all  that  remained  to 
the  tale.) 

WHIBLWIND27 

There  are  two  whirlwinds  which  are  spirits,  Teniausha  and 
Tukaiel.  They  live  in  ant  holes,  and  when  a  firebrand  is  put  in 
their  homes  they  came  out  very  angry,  letting  out  a  whistling  sound. 
These  whirlwinds  steal  spirits  just  as  Takwich  does.  They  are  always 
women. 

Once  August  Lomas'  uncle  was  outside  of  his  house  and  saw  a 
whirlwind  coming.  He  took  a  big  stick  and  chased  her  and  beat  her 
badly.  She  became  smaller  and  smaller  as  he  beat  and  finally  dis 
appeared  altogether.  When  he  told  his  people  what  he  had  done, 
they  scolded  him  and  said  that  he  would  have  trouble  before  long,  for 
Whirlwind  is  very  revengeful.  Not  long  after  that,  the  uncle  had 
to  go  away.  A  whirlwind  came  along,  and  a  medicine  man  saw  her. 
He  asked  her  where  she  was  going  and  she  said,  to  destroy  the  home 
of  the  man  who  had  beaten  her.  This  she  did.  When  August 's  uncle 
returned,  his  house  lay  in  ruins  as  though  a  wind  had  blown  it  down. 

There  were  a  brother  and  sister  living  on  the  Colorado  river  above 
Yuma,  near  where  Blythe  now  is.  Each  morning,  the  girl  went  out 
to  gather  sage  and  mesquite  beans.  One  day  she  happened  to  go  so 
far  that  she  reached  the  home  of  Whirlwind.  It  was  too  late  for  her 
to  run  away.  Whirlwind  seized  her  and  carried  her  to  her  home. 
Here  she  killed  and  ate  her,  as  she  did  all  of  her  victims. 

The  next  morning,  because  the  sister  had  not  yet  returned,  the 
boy  started  out  to  hunt  for  her.  He  followed  her  tracks;  they  sud 
denly  stopped  and  her  basket  was  lying  on  the  ground.  He  then 
knew  that  Whirlwind  had  caught  her. 

Now  Whirlwind  had  a  watch  dog  that  stayed  on  top  of  the  moun 
tain  and  informed  her  of  everything  that  was  going  on  around  the 
valley,  for  he  could  see  a  great  distance.  This  dog,  when  he  saw  the 
boy,  began  to  repeat  over  and  over,  "Someone  is  coming  across  yoivr 
road,  someone  is  coming  across  your  road. ' ' 

So  Whirlwind  went  out  to  meet  the  boy  and  said  to  him,  "How 
poor  and  bony  you  are !  What  are  you  doing  here  ? ' '  He  told  her 
he  wanted  his  sister.  She  said,  "I'll  eat  you  too."  He  said,  "I  am 
a  man,  your  mouth  is  not  big  enough  to  eat  me."  Whirlwind  said. 


27  Told  by  August  Lomas  of  Martinez. 


378  University  of  California  Publications  in  Am.  Arch,  and  Ethn.       [Vol.  Ib 

' '  Oh,  is  that  so  ! "  and  opened  her  mouth  wide.  The  boy  looked  at  it 
and  said,  ' '  That  isn  't  nearly  large  enough. ' '  She  opened  it  still  wider. 
He  said,  ''That  isn't  big, enough,  either."  They  continued  this  con 
versation  for  some  time;  each  time  she  stretched  her  mouth  a  little 
wider.  When  it  was  really  very,  very  large,  the  boy  took  his  bow  and 
arrow  and  rammed  it  down  her  throat  and  she  died. 

He  then  ran  to  her  home.  Here  he  first  saw  a  big  bundle.  He 
opened  it,  and  many  heads  fell  out.  Whirlwind  always  ate  all  but  the 
heads ;  these  she  tied  up  in  bundles.  He  looked  at  each  head,  but  not 
one  was  that  of  his  sister.  He  looked  into  another  bundle.  Here  he 
found  his  sister's  head.  When  the  boy  saw  it,  he  ran  out  of  the  house 
and  toward  his  home  as  fast  as  he  could.  Just  as  soon  as  he  got  out 
side  of  Whirlwind's  house,  it  became  a  flame.  This  flame  chased  him 
home  but  did  not  catch  him. 


1920]  Hooper:  The  CaJiuilla  Indians  379 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

CAHUILLA 

BARROWS,  D.  P. 

1900.  The  Ethnobotany  of  the  Coahuilla  Indians  of  Southern  California, 
University  of  Chicago  Press.  The  most  important  work  on  the 
Cahuilla,  and  very  vividly  written;  it  deals  least  fully  with  those 
phases  of  native  life  which  are  especially  represented  in  the  present 
monograph. 

CABALLERIA,  J. 

1902.  History  of  San  Bernardino  Valley.  San  Bernardino.  Contains  a  brief 
account  of  the  more  westerly  Cahuilla. 

GIFFORD,  E.  W. 

1918.  Clans  and  Moieties  in  Southern  California,  present  series,  xrv,  155-219. 
Pages  186-191  give  practically  all  the  information  extant  on  Cahuilla 
social  organization. 

KROEBER,  A.  L. 

1908.  Ethnography  of  the  Cahuilla  Indians,  present  series,  viil,  29-68.  Ethno- 
geography  and  material  culture. 

WOOSLEY,  D.  J. 

1908.     Cahuilla  Tales,  Jour.  Am.  Folk-Lore,  xxi,  239-240. 


ADJACENT  TRIBES 

BOSCANA,   G. 

1846.  Chinigchinich,  in  A.  Robinson,  Life  in  California.  New  York.  Reprinted 
by  A.  Taylor  in  California  Farmer,  xiu.  A  rare  work  of  very  great 
value.  It  refers  to  the  Juaneno  and  Gabrielino  of  Mission  San  Juan 
Capistrano. 

Du  Bois,  C.  G. 

1901-1908.  Of  a  long  series  of  articles  by  this  author,  the  following  are  the 
principal:  The  Mythology  of  the  Dieguenos,  Intern.  Cong.  Am.,  xin, 
101-106,  New  York,  1905 ;  Diegueno  Myths  and  their  Connections 
with  the  Mohave,  and  Two  Types  or  Styles  of  Diegueno  Religious 
Dancing,  ibid.,  xv,  129-134,  135-138,  Quebec,  1907;  Religious  Cere 
monies  and  Myths  of  the  Mission  Indians,  Am.  Anthr.,  n.s.,  Vii, 
620-629,  1905;  Diegueno  Mortuary  Ollas,  ibid.,  EX,  484-486,  1907; 
Mythology  of  the  Dieguenos,  Jour.  Am.  Folk-Lore,  xrv,  181-185, 
1901;  Mythology  of  the  Mission  Indians,  ibid.,  xvn,  185-188,  1904: 
The  Story  of  the  Chaup,  a  Myth  of  the  Dieguenos,  ibid.,  217-242, 
1904;  The  Religion  of  the  Luiseno  and  Diegueno  Indians,  present 
series,  vm,  69-186,  3908.  The  last  is  the  fullest  and  most  important 
of  these  papers. 


380  University  of  California  Publications  in  Am.  Arch,  and  Ethn.       [Vol.  16 

HARRINGTON,  J.  P. 

1908.     A  Yuma  Account  of  Origins,  Jour.  Am.  Folk-Lore,  xxi,  324—348. 

JAMES,  G.  W. 

1902.  A  Saboba  Origin  Myth,  Jour.   Am.   Folk-Lore,   xv,  36-39,   1902. 

1903.  The  Legend  of  Tauquitch  and  Algoot,  ibid.,  xvi,  153-159,  1903. 

KROEBER,  A.  L. 

1902-1908.  Preliminary  Sketch  of  the  Mohave  Indians,  Am.  Anthr.,  n.s.,  iv, 
276-285,  1902;  Two  Myths  of  the  Mission  Indians,  Jour.  Am.  Folk- 
Lore,  xix,  309-321,  1906;  Origin  Tradition  of  the  Chemehuevi  In 
dians,  ibid.,  xxi,  240-242,  1908;  A  Mission  Record  of  the  California 
Indians,  present  series,  vm,  1-27,  1908. 

LUMMIS,  C.  F. 

1902.  The  Exiles  of  Cupa;  Two  Days  at  Mesa  Grande,  Out  West,  xvi,  465- 
479,  602-612. 

REID,  HUGO. 

1852.  The  Indians  of  Los  Angeles  County,  Los  Angeles  Star,  1852,  republished 
by  A.  Taylor  in  California  Fanner,  xrv,  January  11  to  February  8, 
1861,  and  abridged  by  W.  J.  Hoffman  in  Bulletin  Essex  Institute, 
Salem,  xvn,  1885.  Second  only  to  Boscana  in  general  importance. 

RUST,  H.  N. 

1906.  A  Puberty  Ceremony  of  the  Mission  Indians,  Am.  Anthr.,  n.  s.,  vm, 
28-32. 

SCHUMACHER,  P. 

1880.  The  Methods  of  Manufacturing  Pottery  and  Baskets  among  the  Indians 
of  Southern  California,  Rep.  Peabody  Mus.  Am.  Arch.  Ethn.,  n, 
521-525. 

SPARKMAN,  P.  S. 

1908.     The  Culture  of  the  Luiseiio  Indians,  present  series,  vm,  187-234. 
1908.     A  Luiseno  Tale,  Jour.  Am.  Folk-Lore,  xxi,  35-36. 

WATERMAN,  T.  T. 

1909-1910.  Analysis  of  the  Mission  Indian  Creation  Story,  Am.  Anthr.,  n.s., 
xi,  41-55,  1909;  Diegueno  Identification  of  Color  with  the  Cardinal 
Points,  Jour.  Am.  Folk-Lore,  xxi,  40-42,  1908;  The  Religious  Prac 
tices  of  the  Diegueno  Indians,  present  series,  vm,  271-358,  1910. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  PUBLICATIONS— (Continued) 

Vol.  7.     1.  The  Emeryville  Shellmound,  by  Max  Uhle.    Pp.  1-106,  plates  1-12,  with  38 

text  figures.    June,  1907  1.25 

2.  Recent  Investigations  bearing  upon  the  Question  of  the  Occurrence  of 

Neocene  Man  in  the  Auriferous  Gravels  of  California,  by  William  J. 
Sinclair.    Pp.  107-130,  plates  13-14.    February,  1908  35 

3.  Porno  Indian  Basketry,  by  S.  A.  Barrett.     Pp.  133-306,  plates  15-30,  231 

text  figures.    December,  1908  1.75 

4.  Shellmounds  of  the  San  Francisco  Bay  Region,  by  N.  C.  Nelson.    Pp.  309- 

356,  plates  32-34.    December,  1909  50 

5.  The  Ellis  Landing  Shellmound,  by  N.  C.  Nelson.    Pp.  357-426,  plates  36-50. 

April,  1910 .75 

Index,  pp.  427-443. 

Vol.8.     1.  A  Mission  Record  of  the  California  Indians,  from  a  Manuscript  in  the 

Bancroft  Library,  by  A.  L.  Kroeber.    Pp.  1-27.    May,  1908 25 

2.  The  Ethnography  of  the  Cahuilla  Indians,  by  A.  L.  Kroeber.     Pp.  29-68, 

plates  1-15.    July,  1908  , 75 

3.  The  Religion  of  the  Luiseno  and  Diegueno  Indians  of  Southern  California, 

by  Constance  Goddard  Dubois.    Pp.  69-186,  plates  16-19.    June,  1908 1,25 

4.  The  Culture  of  the  Luiseno  Indians,  by  Philip  Stedman  Sparkman.   Pp.  187- 

234,  plate  20.    August,  1908  50 

5.  Notes  on  Shoshonean  Dialects  of  Southern  California,  by  A.  L.  Kroeber. 

Pp.  235-269.    September,  1909  35 

6.  The  Religious  Practices  of  the  Dieguefio  Indians,  by  T.  T.  Waterman.    Pp. 

271-358,  plates  21-28.     March,  1910  80 

Index,  pp.  359-369. 

Vol.  9.     1.  Yana  Texts,  by  Edward  Sapir,  together  with  Yana  Myths  collected  by 

Roland  B.  Dixon.    Pp.  1-235.    February,  1910  2.50 

2.  The  Chumash  and  Costanoan  Languages,  by  A.  L,  Kroeber.    Pp.  237-271. 

November,  1910  35 

3.  The  Languages  of  the  Coast  of  California  North  of  San  Francisco,  by  A.  L. 

Kroeber.    Pp.  273-435,  and  map.    April,  1911  1.50 

Index,  pp.  437-439. 

Vol.  10.  1.  Phonetic  Constituents  of  the  Native  Languages  of  California,  by  A.  L. 

Kroeber.    Pp.  1-12.    May,  1911  10 

2.  The  Phonetic  Elements  of  the  Northern  Paiute  Language,  by  T.  T.  Water 

man.    Pp.  13-44,  plates  1-5.    November,  1911  45 

3.  Phonetic  Elements  of  the  Mohave  Language,  by  A.  L.  Kroeber.    Pp.  45-96, 

plates  6-20.    November,  1911  65 

4.  The  Ethnology  of  the  Salinan  Indians,  by  J.  Alden  Mason.    Pp.  97-240, 

plates  21-37.    December,  1912  , 1.75 

5.  Papago  Verb  Stems,  by  Juan  Dolores.    Pp.  241-263.    August,  1913  25 

6.  Notes  on  the  Chilula  Indians  of  Northwestern  California,  by  Pliny  Earle 

Goddard.    Pp.  265-288,  plates  38-41.    April,  1914  30 

7.  Chilula  Texts,  by  Pliny  Earle  Goddard.    Pp.  289-379.    November,  1914 1.00 

Index,  pp.  381-385. 

Vol.  11.  1.  Elements  of  the  Kato  Language,  by  Pliny  Earle  Goddard.    Pp.  1-176,  plates 

1-45.     October,  1912  2.00 

2.  Phonetic  Elements  of  the  Diegueno  Language,  by  A.  L.  Kroeber  and  J.  P. 

Harrington.    Pp.  177-188.    April,  1914 10 

3.  Sarsi  Texts,  by  Pliny  Earle  Goddard.    Pp.  189-277.    February,  1915 1.00 

4.  Serian,  Tequistlatecan,  and  Hokan,  by  A.  L.  Kroeber.    Pp.  279-290.    Febru 

ary,   1915  10 

5.  Dichotomous  Social  Organization  in  South  Central  California,  by  Edward 

Winslow  Gifford.    Pp.  291-296.    February,  1916  05 

6.  The  Delineation  of  the  Day-Signs  in  the  Aztec  Manuscripts,  by  T.  T.  Water 

man.    Pp.  297-398.    March,  1916  1.00 

7.  The  Mutsun  Dialect  of  Costanoan  Based  on  the  Vocabulary  of  De  la  Cuesta, 

by  J.  Alden  Mason.    Pp.  399-472.    March,  1916 70 

Index,  pp.  473-479. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  PUBLICATIONS— (Continued) 

VoL  12.  1.  Composition  of  California  Shellmounds,  by  Edward  Winslow  Gifford.    Pp. 

1-29.    February,  1916  39 

2.  California  Place  Names  of  Indian  Origin,  by  A.  L.  Kroeber.    Pp.  31-69. 

June,  1916  40 

3.  Arapaho  Dialects,  by  A.  L.  Kroeber.    Pp.  71-138.    June,  1916 .70 

4.  Miwok  Moieties,  by  Edward  Winslow  Gifford.    Pp.  139-194.    June,  1916"!"      .55 

5.  On  Plotting  the  Inflections  of  the  Voice,  by  Cornelius  B.  Bradley.    Pp.  195- 

218,  plates  1-5.    October,  1916  25 

6.  Ttibatulabal  and  Kawaiisu  Kinship  Terms,  by  Edward  Winslow  Gifford. 

Pp.  219-248. .  February,  1917  30 

7.  Bandolier's  Contribution  to  the  Study  of  Ancient  Mexican  Social  Organiza 

tion,  by  T.  T.  Waterman.    Pp.  249-282.    February,  1917 35 

8.  Miwok  Myths,  by  Edward  Winslow  Gifford.    Pp.  283-338,  plate  6.     May, 

1917  : 55 

9.  California  Kinship  Systems,  A.  L.  Kroeber.    Pp.  339-396.    May,  1917  ..._ 60 

10.  Ceremonies  of  the  Porno  Indians,  by  S.  A.  Barrett.    Pp.  397-441,  8  text- 

figures.    July,  1917  45 

11.  Porno  Bear  Doctors,  by  S.  A.  Barrett.  Pp.  443-465,  plate  7.    July,  1917 25 

Index,  pp.  467-473. 

Vol.  13.  1.  The  Position  of  Yana  in  the  Hokan  Stock,  by  E.  Sapir.    Pp.  1-34.    July, 

1917  35 

2.  The  Yana  Indians,  by  T.  T.  Waterman.    Pp.  35-102,  plates  1-20.    February, 

1918  .75 

3.  Yahi  Archery,  by  Saxton  T.  Pope.    Pp.  103-152,  plates  21-37.    March,  1918      .75 

4.  Yana  Terms  of  Relationship,  by  Edward  Sapir.    Pp.  153-173.    March,  1918      .25 
Vol.14.  1.  The  Language  of  the  Salinan  Indians,  by  J.  Alden  Mason.     Pp.  1-154. 

January,  1918 1.75 

2.  Clans  and  Moieties  in  Southern  California,  by  Edward  Winslow  Gifford. 

Pp.  155-219,  1  figure  in  text.    March,  1918 75 

3.  Ethnogeography  and  Archaeology  of  the  Wiyot  Territory,  by  Llewellyn  L. 

Loud.    Pp.  221-436,  plates  1-21,  15  text-figures.    December,  1918 2.50 

4.  The  Wintun  Hesi  Ceremony,  by  S.  A.  Barrett.     Pp.  437-488,  plates  22-23, 

3  figures  in  text.    March,  1919 .75 

5.  The  Genetic  Relationship  of  the  North  American  Indian  Languages,  by 

Paul  Radin.    Pp.  489-502.    May,  1919   15 

Vol.  15.  1.  Ifugao  Law,  by  R.  F.  Barton.    Pp.  1-186,  plates  1-33.    February,  1919 2.00 

2.  Nabaloi  Songs,  by  C.  R.  Moss  and  A.  L.  Kroeber.    Pp.  187-206.    May,  1919      .20 
Vol.  16.   1.  Myths  of  the  Southern  Sierra  Miwok,  by  S.  A.  Barrett.    Pp.  1-28.    March, 

1919  SO 

2.  The  Matrilineal  Complex,  by  Robert  H.  Lowie.   Pp.  29-45.  March,  1919 15 

3.  The  Linguistic  Families  of  California,  by  Roland  B.  Dixon  and  A.  L. 

Kroeber.    Pp.  47-118,  map  1,  1  figure  in  text.     September,  1919 75 

4.  Calendars  of  the  Indians  North  of  Mexico,  by  Leona  Cope.     Pp.  119-176, 

with  3  maps.    November,  1919 75 

5.  Yurok  Geography,  by  T.  T.  Waterman.     Pp.  177-314,  plates  1-16,  1  text 

figure,  34  maps (In  press) 

6.  The  Cahuilla  Indians,  by  Lucile  Hooper.    Pp.  315-380.    April,  1920 .75 

Volumes  now  completed: 

Volume  1.     1903-1904.    378  pages  and  30  plates  $4.25 

Volume  2.      1904-1907.     393  pages  and  21  plates 8.50 

Volume  3.     1905.    The  Morphology  of  the  Hupa  Language,    344  pages 3.50 

Volume  4.     1906-1907.    374  pages,  with  5  tables,  10  plates,  and  map  3.50 

Volume  5.     1907-1910.     384  pages,  with  25  plates  3.50 

Volume  6.     1908.    400  pages,  with  3  maps  „.. 3.50 

Volume  7.     1907-1910.    443  pages  and  50  plates  3.50 

Volume  8.      1908-1910.     369  pages  and  28  plates  3.50 

Volume  9.      1910-1911.     439  pages  3.50 

Volume  10.    1911-1914.     385  pages  and  41  plates  3.50 

Volume  11.    1911-1916.    479  pages  and  45  plates 3.50 

Volume  12.    1916-1917.    473  pages  and  7  plates  5.00 

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